Triple-digit temperatures are part of life in Tucson in the spring and summer seasons – and they are only becoming more frequent.
In March, Tucson recorded its earliest 100-degree day in a calendar year. The extreme temperatures contributed to the five heat-related deaths across the county before the month of May, with a total of 26 in the season so far.
To combat the heat, Pima County now offers 48 cooling centers for the community, having added 15 more over the last two years. The indoor sites provide air conditioning, drinking fountains, bottled water and other resources during operating hours. Everyone, regardless of housing status, is welcome.
But there are still service gaps the county is working to address, including extended operation hours and pet-friendliness.
As of July 29 2026, the county recorded more than 60,000 visitors this year in its 48 cooling centers – already around 25,000 more than all of last summer, according to the county’s heat response and relief program manager, Nate Young.
The number of daily visitors to cooling centers can top over 100, depending largely on the location. But that is just one factor – operation days and times also vary widely per each facility.
#Weekend operation#
Finding cooling centers that are open on weekends can be a challenge. According to the Pima County’s flyer, only 9 locations are open on Sundays, and most close at 4 p.m., a time when summer temperatures often exceed 100 degrees.
Those facilities include:
- Freedom Park Center (12 - 4 p.m.)
- Fred Archer Center (12 - 4 p.m.)
- El Pueblo Cooltainer (12 - 4 p.m.)
- Ajo Cooltainer (11 a.m. - 7 p.m.)
- Salvation Army Hospitality House (12 p.m. - 5 p.m.)
- Randolph Recreation Center (12 - 4 p.m.)
- Pima County Justice Services Transition Center (8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)
- Donna Liggins Center (12 - 4 p.m.)
- Udall Recreation Center (12 - 4 p.m.)
Young said one of their priorities for this year is working on expanding access to facilities.
“A lot of our locations are operating out of their own budget, so that may come with some limitations on hours or days of operation like reduced hours during the weekend,” he said. “What we try to do is make sure the public has access to the most up-to-date information on which sites are open at our website. If there is ever an extreme heat warning issued by the National Weather Service, we do request our partners with capacity to extend their hours and consider opening up for the weekend.”
Young says he and his team do targeted heat relief outreach, so people are equipped with information and resources they might need.
“We do try to meet people where they are, try to get them that safety information and information on resources ahead of time,” he said. “That way they're not looking for help or looking for where to go in the middle of the heat emergency.”
#Cooling off at libraries#
The total number of Pima County cooling centers include 26 Pima County libraries.
Libraries are frequently used for heat relief, as they have the longest, continuously operating hours and a larger capacity for patrons.
This year, the county introduced a daily point-in-time count inside each during the busiest time of the day. Jessica Miesner from Pima County Libraries said that around 100 people, both housed and unhoused, find heat relief in the libraries during that window.
“Libraries serve a bit of a different purpose in our community, but we still want to make sure people are welcome and getting the help they need,” Young said. “Something we've done is provide information and resources on nonprofits and other county programs that unhoused folks can reach out to in order to get assistance.”
All libraries are available for heat relief during the week, though all are closed on Sundays. Some, including the El Pueblo, Joel D. Valdez, Joyner-Green Valley, Salazar-Ajo, Sam Lena South Tucson, Santa Rosa, Southwest, W. Anne Gibson-Esmond Station, are closed on Saturdays as well.
#Few pet-friendly cooling centers#
Out of the county’s 48 cooling centers, only eight are open to pets, excluding service animals. Sites are free to choose whether or not they accept animals.
The Pima County Health Department is partnering with the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine to make more facilities pet-friendly.
The initiative is being spearheaded by UA veterinarians Jennifer Wishnie and Amanda Sorensen, who were supported in the project by veterinary summer scholar Jennifer Reed.
Wishnie, a faculty member at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the UA, specialises in veterinary public health. She also oversees the student-led One Health Club, which sparked the initiative, as the club has been doing heat relief outreach for the past two years, while also visiting shelters and providing educational materials for people experiencing homelessness with their pets.
Sorensen, who is in her second year of residency, emphasized the need for pet-friendly cooling centers.
“When we think about natural disasters where people will delay or avoid evacuation because they don't want to leave their pets, that's something that could apply to these very hot days and where we see that need for pet-friendly cooling centers,” she said.
The project recently wrapped up its phase one, where the team gained an understanding about the cooling centers’ needs and challenges. They are now putting the data together to develop a list of recommendations and best practices to submit for the Pima County Health Department. The initiative’s goal is to create cooling centers where both pets, clients and managers feel comfortable. Wishnie and Sorensen are aiming to present their recommendations to the Pima County Health Department by the beginning of 2027.
#Plans for the upcoming seasons#
For all cooling centers, Young said priorities include targeted outreach to vulnerable populations, such as unhoused people, mobile home residents, older adult populations or people with chronic conditions.
Other priorities are providing transportation to and from cooling centers. The department is also planning a heat hotline program, which they planned to pilot this summer.
“A lot of those will likely carry over into the 2027 season, especially the things surrounding vulnerable populations and taking an overall data-driven approach to our programming,” he said. “We take a long hard look at the heat-related death and heat-related illness data and really try to use that to craft our plan for the upcoming heat season.”
