Shelters prepped, ready for extreme cold snap
By COLLIN GALLANT on January 11, 2024.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant With the first extreme cold snap of the winter arriving in the city, officials with emergency shelters say they are prepared, but aren’t expecting much higher usage than during an unusually warm start to winter. “The numbers have been steady,” said Vlad Duque, day program co-ordinator for the Mustard Seed. “Facing -30C, we have the capacity and we don’t turn people out. “Nobody will be on the streets.” Environment Canada predicts windchills approaching -40C on Thursday night and a high risk of frostbite. Daytime highs likely won’t rise above -30C on Friday and Saturday, while extreme cold is expected to give way to temperatures only in the minus-teens early next week. The Community Impact Centre on Allowance Avenue allows anyone seeking shelter to come in and stay warm from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. – opposite hours of the Mustard Seed’s overnight shelter located near Kingsway Avenue. That overnight facility has capacity to house 30 individuals, but saw an average of about 20 during the fall and early winter. As temperature drops dramatically, the number of clients is expected to rise to from 24 to 26. “We are covered 24 hours. And on the weekend and holidays, the shelter is open 24 hours,” said Duque. The daytime Community Impact Centre sees about 70 to 80 individuals for breakfast and slightly fewer for lunch. The facility also provides coffee until the late afternoon, and in extreme cold weather, offers transportation back to and from the overnight facility. Calm before storm Tow truck operators in the city are preparing for the worst with dropping temperatures. Craig Kohls, head of Auto-Spa Towing in Medicine Hat, says his 35 trucks were busy working throughout the province during the fall and early winter, but he expects a crush of calls as the first very cold stretch of the winter sets in. “We have a lot of oars in the water,” said Kohls. “But we’ll be non-stop as the weather gets worse. “By Monday morning, everybody in the entire country is going to be calling for something.” His advise is to stay off the roads if possible, plug in block heaters and give your vehicle time to warmup. “The next couple days shouldn’t be too bad, before it gets really cold, then it should improve after Monday-Tuesday,” said Kohls. 18-17
