Kern County General Services and other agencies are preparing for rising temperatures by activating the Kern County Cooling Center season.
Starting on Wednesday, May 15, cooling centers throughout the county will open when temperatures are forecast by the National Weather Service (NWS) to exceed certain highs.
Cooling centers in the San Joaquin and Kern River Valleys will open when temperatures are forecast to reach 105 degrees or higher. Centers in the desert areas will open when temperatures are forecast to reach 108 degrees or higher. Frazier Park cooling centers will open when temperatures are forecast to reach 95 degrees or higher.
If activated, cooling centers will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Residents can learn which centers will be open through the Cooling Centers Daily Report, which will be released by 11 a.m. the day before. For weekends, the daily report will be released by 11 a.m. on Friday.
Kern County General Services encourages residents to bring their favorite non-alcoholic beverages, snacks, reading material, games, etc. to better enjoy the centers.
Confirmed cooling center locations:
San Joaquin and Kern River Valley Centers
- Arvin - Arvin Community Center, 800 Walnut Drive
- Bakersfield - East Bakersfield Veterans Building, 2101 Ridge Road
- Bakersfield - East Niles Senior Center, 6601 E. Niles Street
- Bakersfield - The Mission at Kern County, 816 E. 21st Street
- Buttonwillow - Buttonwillow Recreation and Park District, 556 Milo Avenue
- Lake Isabella - Kern River Valley Senior Center, 6405 Lake Isabella Boulevard
- Maricopa - Gusher Hall, 271 California Street
- Shafter - Walker Senior Center, 505 Sunset Avenue
- Taft - Taft Veterans Building, 213 Taylor Street
Mountain Center(s)
- Frazier Park - Frazier Park Recreation Building, 3801 Park Drive
Desert Centers
- California City - California City Police Department, 21130 Hacienda Boulevard
- California City - Strata Center, 10350 Heather Avenue
- Ridgecrest - Kerr-McGee Center, 100 W. California Avenue
- Rosamond - Hummel Community Building, 2500 20th Street
- Mojave - Mojave Vets Building, 15580 ‘O’ Street
