Finding a safe place to cool off can be difficult when cooling centers quickly reach capacity.
In Santa Maria, California, with temperatures rising above 100 degrees, residents are turning to everyday community spaces to escape the heat.
Among the places offering some relief were the Santa Maria Public Library and Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, where people could find indoor shelter, water, and a few safer hours out of the sun.
Here’s what to know
According to KSBY, hotter conditions in Santa Barbara County have led many more people to seek relief inside public spaces. In Santa Maria, that has shown up through heavier traffic at community sites and heat-related responses from the Santa Maria Fire Department…