Edmonton activates extreme weather response Monday

With colder temperatures on the forecast in the coming week, the City of Edmonton is activating its extreme weather response to help vulnerable citizens.

The coldest days are expected to be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with temperatures as cold as -27 C, CTV News Edmonton's Chief Meteorologist Josh Classen wrote on Friday.

"It is going to be dangerously cold for anybody that's out on the streets," he said.

The cold-weather protocol includes three overnight bus routes to shelters with capacity, day services at The Bissell Centre and Boyle Street Community Services, and wellness checks at encampments.

The centres will offer laundry, showers, food and mental health support.

"When it gets to extreme cold…the fear of even losing your life, we've lost so many people already, so the fear of losing your life, people are like, 'I gotta get inside,'" said The Bissell Centre's Scarlet Bjornson.

Boyle Street's Winter Warming Bus will also be on the road, giving out food, winter clothes and blankets, and rides to warming centres and shelters.

Local libraries will be open during the day so people can warm up, but LRT stations will not be part of the response.

The city asks residents to call 911, if it's an emergency, or 211 if they see someone in distress.

"Keep mitts and socks and things like that in your vehicle," Bjornson added. "It's really great to donate to our agency or other agencies around town, but if you see someone distressed, have those things with you just to hand to them. It could save fingers."

The protocol will be in place between 9 a.m. on Monday and 6 a.m. on Sunday.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha