Cooling centers to open Friday in Portland, Beaverton and Vancouver

As temperatures soar into the triple digits Friday, area governments and nonprofits are opening cooling centers to help vulnerable residents beat the heat.

Multnomah County plans to open three cooling centers Friday, one in Gresham and two in Northeast Portland.

They will open at noon and close at 10 p.m. TriMet will give free rides to people heading to a cooling center starting at 10 a.m. County residents who need additional help with transportation can call 211.

The cooling centers will open at:

Cook Plaza, 19421 S.E. Stark St., Gresham

Portland Covenant Church, 4046 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland

The Hugo, 6221 N.E. 82nd Ave., Portland

Multnomah County libraries, which are closed Thursday because of the Fourth of July holiday, will reopen Friday. The Central branch on Southwest 10th Avenue in Portland, and the Gresham branch will extend their hours until 9 p.m.

Washington County is opening two 24-hour inclement weather shelters starting at noon on Friday. Guests can bring their pets and will receive meals.

Those shelters are located at:

Washington Street Conference Center, 102 SW Washington St., Hillsboro

Beaverton Community Center, 12350 SW 5th St., Beaverton

Beaverton City Library branches will also function as cooling centers from Friday through Sunday. The Main and Murray Scholls locations are open to anyone during normal business hours Friday and the main location on Southwest Fifth Street will extend its evening hours until 9 p.m. from Friday through the weekend.

The Beaverton City Park Fountain is also open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

And in Clark County, the Council for the Homeless announced two cooling centers this weekend at area churches.

Mill Plain United Methodist Church at 15804 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver will be open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Living Hope Church at 2711 N.E. Andresen Road in Vancouver will be open from 1 p.m to 7 p.m. Friday, from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.