Phoenix cooling centers sheltered thousands through record-breaking summer heat

Only one Phoenix location will continue to provide late-night heat relief to those in need as temperatures are expected to soar to record-breaking levels through Oct. 7.

Burton Barr Library has for the first time been offering overnight heat relief this year, along with three other library locations that started after-hours library cooling centers throughout the summer.

It's been a popular program. So far, 31,657 visitors have taken respite inside the cooling centers — and the number is only expected to increase.

"Unfortunately, we're looking at triple digits continuing for the rest of the week," said Matt Salerno, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. "We're going to see daily records challenged every day."

Other sites are shutting their doors after normal business hours.

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The sites at the Cholla, Harmon, and Yucca libraries hosted their last evening cooling site services Sept. 30. Heat mitigation services will continue to be offered at all library locations during normal business hours.

The intake at Burton Barr alone received anywhere from 200 to 1000 weekly visits throughout the record-breaking summer, according to Phoenix's most recent heat report.

According to the report, 65% of these are returning visitors and over 90% of the visitors reported being homeless.

For more heat relief information, check with the Maricopa Association of Governments' heat relief network.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cooling centers helped thousands through record-breaking AZ heat