Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Michael Reeve

EXTREME WEATHER RESPONSE

Shelter operators expanding service with mercury set to plunge in Kamloops

Jan 17, 2025 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — With Environment Canada forecasting overnight lows to dip below -5 C every night for the next week, Kamloops is initializing its extreme weather response by expanding shelter spaces in the community.

It won’t be the first time this winter the dropping mercury has forced shelter operators like the Kamloops branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) to expand service, but it may be the longest stretch with temperatures forecast below 0 C for the week to come.

“For us, it’s giving people a warm place to stay. They have a few options here in town and also the North Shore and downtown corridor, as well. Our teams have been busy since we’ve been in extreme weather on and off since November,” said CMHA Kamloops Executive Director Alfred Achoba.

So far this winter, CMHA has averaged 27 extra guests when it adds the 35 extreme weather beds. That’s on top of near-capacity across the city.

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“Most of our shelters are over 100 per cent capacity outside of the extreme weather beds we just opened, so we are bringing in more people within the regular shelter but also expanding and opening extra beds as the [temperature] drops,” said Achoba.

While it’s not unusual, it is the first extended cold snap of the winter.

“Your overnight lows dropping down into even the (minus) double digits over the next few days here. Now, it’s not drastically cold but it is going to feel like four or five degrees below normal and some of the coldest temperatures we have experienced so far this winter,” said Environment Canada Meteorologist Lisa Erven.

Expanding shelter spaces was put in as a temporary measure for this winter, as the city looks to open the North Shore access hub with 44 beds, reported to open sometime this month.

“Sometimes, it’s not just about the numbers. It’s also the accessibility of shelters, where it’s located,” said Achoba.

“We are always looking at filling those gaps. Valleyview is one area where we don’t have shelter. But definitely bringing in 44 shelter beds on the North Shore has been a big shift because the North Shore for so long hasn’t had a shelter.”