Every day, thousands of City of Portland employees provide services to Portlanders. When an extreme weather event is in the forecast, such as the recent heat, additional response is activated by the City, other government agencies, and community organizations.
Throughout an event, the Bureau of Emergency Management coordinates between the City’s service areas that might be impacted by the heat; Multnomah County, who supports the health of Portlanders; and other agencies. Here’s a snapshot of what the bureau did during the heat wave:
- Activated an incident management team with staff from Parks & Recreation, Water, Transportation and Portland Permitting & Development to centralize the City around response to the heat emergency. We are activated through Friday July 12th in order to complete resource requests and reset for the next possible heat event.
- The Incident Management Team coordinated with City service areas to ensure City cooling infrastructure (pools, splash pads, misting stations, water trucking, and cooling spaces) were operational and accessible and that these resources were broadcast to people in Portland.
- Recruited and trained volunteer City staff and other resources to support Multnomah County cooling center surge capacity.
- Contributed to a safety plan for the Waterfront Blues Festival to document heat mitigation and response measures.
- Engaged our community-based organizations through our Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) program to learn what information is needed and provided resources, such as multilingual information, so that COADs could support their own communities throughout the emergency. We also supported COADs in their capacity to provide cooling resources for their communities.
- Utilized the Neighborhood Emergency Teams (NET) program, deploying volunteers for 37 shifts supporting emergency coordination meetings, cooling infrastructure for the community, and formulating outreach. NET volunteers staffed splash pads over six evenings, providing safety awareness and public interaction, as well as data to inform future responses.
- Supported requests for information from leadership and resources from bureaus, to ensure service continuity.
- The incident safety officer team coordinated citywide with safety professionals to ensure heat illness prevention plans were implemented throughout the workforce, leadership had consistent approaches to safe work practices, workplace conditions were monitored through site visits and with facility owners and operators, best approaches were explored with employees for safe alternative work arrangements, and splash pads visits ensured NET volunteers could work safely and those facilities remained available beyond normal hours. During one facility visit, first aid and hospital transport was provided to a community member with heat stroke symptoms.
We provide uninterrupted services to Portlanders by preparing for and prioritizing the safety of City employees. Planning ahead for heat emergencies has included workforce heat illness prevention trainings starting in April and time investments in developing alternative approaches to work, such as adjusting work schedules to cooler parts of the day and creating telework opportunities for staff otherwise required to work onsite full-time.
PDX 311, the City’s information line, took over 900 calls from community members looking for information on cooling center’s locations, Cooling Portland applications, Parks pools/splash pads, and other related information. On average, call volume increased 85% over the holiday weekend.
The Central Communications team ensured heat safety information and cooling shelter maps were available in seven languages on social media as well as for community organizations.
Portland Street Response teams responded to nearly 200 calls Saturday through Tuesday, and distributed 653 water bottles, 105 electrolyte packets, and 32 cooling towels to those in need.
The Shelter Services program maintains 576 sleeping units across the city, each with air conditioning (as well as heat, for the winter). Shelter staff ensured guests had water and the affiliated Friends groups (neighbors and volunteers) delivered heat relief, such as popsicles and electrolyte drinks.
Fire & Rescue responded to 140 heat-related calls from Friday, July 5, through Tuesday, July 9.
The Bureau of Emergency Communications logged 136 heat-related incidents during that same time period.
Water Bureau crews set up 14 temporary cooling stations last Friday to provide drinking water and refreshing mist at parks around town. Our cooling stations were open 24/7 for six days.
Each summer, Parks & Recreation maintains a network of splash pads and fountains, which are a great way to cool down – no swimming skills necessary! Park splash pad hours are extended again this year as we anticipated a hot summer, running from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, through Labor Day. Interactive play fountains in parks have varying hours. It’s important to keep our community and staff safe, so when programming or facilities are adjusted, canceled, or closed due to heat, we will notify the public.
Park Rangers performed wellness checks in parksand coordinated with the Joint Office of Homeless Services to hand out water and other available supplies.
Parks and Recreation's Urban Forestry team provides resources for caring for trees in hot weather.
Thank you to everyone for checking in on our most vulnerable community members. To help us prepare to support future severe weather activations, please spread the word about how to volunteer at a Disaster Resource Center. Learn about Multnomah County info sessions and general staff trainings, including one on Friday, July 19, 2024.