For over a year, I’ve been asking Whatcom County and City of Bellingham leaders a set of simple, urgent questions about how they plan to respond to extreme heat and wildfire smoke—conditions that are becoming more frequent and more deadly every summer. As the founder of Operation Water Drop, I see firsthand the people most affected by our climate emergencies: unhoused residents, elders in poorly ventilated apartments, those without transportation, and individuals with chronic illness. These are the folks most likely to die during a heatwave or suffer from long-term respiratory damage due to wildfire smoke. Despite this, there are still no clearly defined thresholds for when cooling or clean air shelters are activated in Whatcom County. No public policy. No clear plan. No communication strategy. Just volunteers scrambling in 80+ degree heat to fill the gaps. What I Asked Here are the questions I’ve asked, repeatedly, since June 2024: […]
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Follow-Up to Whatcom/Bellingham Leaders: No Response on Cooling Center Plans Ahead of Dangerous Heat
From: Tukayote Helianthus <emailme@tukayote.com>Date: Friday, July 11, 2025 at 07:26To: mayorsoffice@cob.org <mayorsoffice@cob.org>, ccmail@cob.org <ccmail@cob.org>, hestone@cob.org <hestone@cob.org>, hahuthman@cob.org <hahuthman@cob.org>, dchammill@cob.org <dchammill@cob.org>, Cotton, Jace A. <jacotton@cob.org>, ehwilliams@cob.org <ehwilliams@cob.org>, laanderson@cob.org <laanderson@cob.org>, mlilliquist@cob.org <mlilliquist@cob.org>, council@co.whatcom.wa.us <council@co.whatcom.wa.us>, CFrazey@co.whatcom.wa.us <CFrazey@co.whatcom.wa.us>, kgallowa@co.whatcom.wa.us <kgallowa@co.whatcom.wa.us>, bbuchana@co.whatcom.wa.us <bbuchana@co.whatcom.wa.us>, tdonovan@co.whatcom.wa.us <tdonovan@co.whatcom.wa.us>, tbyrd@co.whatcom.wa.us <tbyrd@co.whatcom.wa.us>, kkershne@co.whatcom.wa.us <kkershne@co.whatcom.wa.us>, belenbaa@co.whatcom.wa.us <belenbaa@co.whatcom.wa.us>, DTanksle@co.whatcom.wa.us <DTanksle@co.whatcom.wa.us>, ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us <ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us>, Jon Scanlon <jscanlon@co.whatcom.wa.us>Subject: Follow-Up: No Response on Cooling Center Plans Ahead of Dangerous Heat Dear Bellingham and Whatcom County Officials, I am following up on my previous emails dated June 2, 2024, and June 3, 2025, regarding the urgent need for cooling centers as we approach another dangerously hot week. As of today, I have not received a response to the email on June 3, 2025 nor have I seen any public announcements regarding emergency cooling center availability for next week. Forecasted highs in the mid-80s—combined with direct sun and humidity—pose serious and well-documented health risks, especially to our unhoused […]
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