 County sending more cooling resources to Ajo and Western Pima County
AJO, Ariz., July 17, 2024 – Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said today the state and the County would be sending more cooling resources to Ajo to help community members protect themselves from the heat this summer.
The Arizona Department of Health Services is delivering a “COOLtainer” to Ajo July 18 that is similar to the ones recently set up in Tucson. The COOLtainer is a fully ADA accessible, air-conditioned repurposed shipping container that operates off solar power. The state is deploying 18 of the centers around Arizona, including two in Tucson.
“The new cooling resources for Ajo and the surrounding community is much needed and welcome news since electrical outages are unfortunately frequent occurrences during the monsoon season,” said District 3 Pima County Supervisor Dr. Sylvia Lee. “District 3 is unique in that many of the communities we serve are rural which can make providing resources more challenging. We are thrilled that cooling services will be provided seven days a week.”
The Salazar-Ajo Public Library, in the historic Ajo Plaza, serves as a cooling center in the unincorporated community about 130 miles west of downtown Tucson. The library will provide extended hours and no longer close from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. each weekday. It will remain open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Mondays, and 9 a.m. -5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The new COOLtainer will be open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The County is placing the new weekend cooling resource next to the County pool at E.S. “Bud” Walker Park, 290 W. 5th Street. Community Health Workers from the County Health Department will staff the facility, which will be open to anyone who needs to get out of the heat. It is expected to open for service July 20 and be open every weekend through the rest of this summer.
“Sometimes, just a couple hours out of the heat in a cool place is all that’s needed to prevent injury due to heat or for someone at risk of a heat injury to recover,” said Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen.
The state and county health departments this year have launched aggressive public awareness campaigns about the rising threat of heat injury and illness due to a warming planet. The County and the city of Tucson are cooperating in promoting cooling centers in the metro area as part of that effort. While extremely high temperatures happen every year, the threat of increased heat is tied to its persistence. It gets hotter sooner, stays hot longer, and doesn’t cool off much at night.
“The body never has a chance to recover. That’s why it’s so important for people who may have limited financial resources to run their air conditioning all day, or their AC breaks down, or someone who is unhoused, to have the opportunity to go somewhere to cool off. It could be the difference between life and death,” Cullen said.
While pets are not allowed at the Library during the week, the COOLtainer will have a few kennels inside the container to keep pets cool, too. Pima Animal Care Center Director Monica Dangler said persistent high heat also is a health threat for animals, who likewise benefit from respite in a cool place. The County is in discussions with other Ajo community agencies to find more resources for pets, especially during power outages.
A COOLtainer isn’t’ the only resource on its way to Ajo. The County is installing a generator at the Walker Park Community Center to provide power in the event of a power outage and allow the Community Center to serve as a larger cooling site during emergencies. Earlier this month, a protracted power outage affected the Library, causing its closure. The Community Center will now be able to fill that need during protracted power outages. The Community Center is being retrofitted to support the generator switchover and the Center won't be available as an emergency shelter until that work is completed in the next week or so.
Lesher said a more permanent solution for Ajo and Western Pima County will come with the opening of the Curley School gym early next year. The County is renovating the historic building which will be used for multiple purposes, including as a heat respite center and emergency shelter. All of the new assets arriving in Ajo or under construction will be available for use by residents in the nearby Western Pima County communities of Why and Lukeville, as well as residents of the far western Tohono O’odham Nation.
To help keep Ajo and Western Pima County residents informed about County programs and services, and about heat resilience and resources, the County Communications Office has created a Ajo and Western Pima County Facebook page.
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