Austin, Travis County leaders talk about response to dangerously hot weather
AUSTIN, Texas - City of Austin and Travis County leaders say they're considering extending opening cooling centers overnight, amid the dangerously hot weather.
"Already in the past two weeks, we have seen a dramatic increase in calls for heat related emergencies. Since April 1st, we've seen 166 incidents that were triaged as heat related. 92 of those were in June and 88 occurred within the last two weeks," said Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services Chief Rob Luckritz.
On Tuesday, an Austin firefighter was taken to a hospital with heat-related illness after working a fire in North Austin, and a dog walker was rescued after getting lost on a trail and passing out.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the following may be signs of heat exhaustion:
- Heavy sweating
- Cold, pale, and clammy skin
- Fast, weak pulse
- Nausea or vomiting
- Muscle cramps
- Tiredness or weakness
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Fainting (passing out)
If you're suffering from any of those symptoms, they say you should move to a cool place, loosen your clothes, put cool, wet cloths on your body or take a cool bath, and sip water. Get medical help right away if you are throwing up, your symptoms get worse, or your symptoms last longer than an hour.
For more information on recognizing signs of heat related illness, and for heat safety tips, visit https://austintexas.gov/heataware.
The City advises residents to take steps to stay safe and cool during the heat, including:
- Staying hydrated by drinking water regularly, even when not thirsty
- Wear loose-fitting clothing
- Apply and re-apply sunscreen according to product labels
- Take shade breaks, especially if you work outside
- Practice water safety when cooling off in pools and open water
- Check all areas of your vehicle for children, pets and adults before leaving and locking your parked vehicle
- On dog walks, pack a water bowl for hydration breaks.
Cooling centers are open at all Austin libraries and park facilities and CapMetro is providing free rides. Just let your driver know where you're headed when you get on the bus. To see cooling center hours and locations, click here.
The City says it's also doing extensive outreach with the Council on Aging.
"Maybe they live in an older home that doesn't have central AC. We can help them out and give them transportation to a cooling center so they have the opportunity to stay cool during the day," said Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup.
EMS is reaching out to other vulnerable communities.
"Our community health paramedic team has been working very diligently. They are actively participating in reaching out to the most vulnerable in the community, both unhoused individuals and others that they've they encounter every day, ensuring that they have adequate water, ensuring that they are aware of all of the cooling centers that are available and the bus routes that they can take to get there," said Luckritz.
Austin Energy says it's in constant contact with ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, monitoring conditions on the statewide electric grid.
On Tuesday, ERCOT urged customers to voluntarily conserve power. When asked about the possibility of rolling blackouts, Austin Energy General Manager Stuart Reilly said, "I just want to stress that we do not see that currently on the horizon."
He said they have crews in the field at all times ready to respond to outages.
"Every outage that we get on our system, big or small, is an urgent matter for us to address in this kind of heat, as it always is. And so we're out there ready to respond," he said.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and City Manager Jesus Garza both said the City will continue providing regular communication to make sure the public stays informed during this heatwave.
RELATED COVERAGE: