With more cold, foggy nights in store for Fresno, council votes on warming center hours

Advocates for Fresno’s unhoused population thanked the Fresno City Council for its Thursday action to extend warming center hours, calling it a “Christmas present.”

Four of Fresno’s warming centers will be open from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. until Jan. 31 regardless of temperature after the Fresno City Council voted during an emergency meeting to extend the hours. The council voted 6-0 Thursday morning. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld was absent.

Advocates and unhoused Fresnans thanked city officials and said it’s a big help for the unhoused population. Councilmembers took the emergency action this week specifically to protect unhoused people during the winter.

“I’ve had several friends that have died in the cold. I’ve slept in the cold myself. It’s not fun,” Mary Mason told the council. “I appreciate you guys trying to get these warming centers open because we all deserve life. …It helps better people and make them feel better about themselves when they wake up in the morning morning. It’s a whole new ballgame.”

“It’s a Christmas present to those who will be there and those going there now,” said Brandi Nuse-Villegas, an advocate who helps deliver drinking water to unhoused people.

Fresno temperatures this past week have dipped into the low 30s overnight, and rain is expected next week, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford.

Earlier this year, the City Council adjusted the operating schedule for cooling and warming centers. Beginning this year, warming centers are open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. when temperatures are forecast to drop below 35 degrees. Advocates on Thursday asked for slightly extended hours, and councilmembers obliged.

The city operates four warming centers at the following community centers: Ted C. Wills, Maxie L. Parks, Mosqueda Center, and Pinedale Community Center. Pets are allowed inside, and Fresno Area Transportation offers free bus rides to the select centers, along existing routes.

Warming centers are particularly important for Fresno’s unhoused population, and advocates have asked city officials to open the centers indefinitely, rather than evaluating the weather forecast each day.

The Fresno Rescue Mission also offers a warming center when temperatures drop below 35 degrees or during extreme weather conditions.