WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — A sweltering Sunday capped off a dangerously hot week across our area with more high temperatures coming in the days ahead.
In DC, people are taking advantage of spray parks and pools to keep cool.
"We activated our outdoor pools, nine of them, on Juneteenth and we saw 7,000 residents in a short period of time," said Thennie Freeman, Director of DC's Department of Parks and Recreation. "We realized that people were trying to beat the heat.”
DC pools are now open six days a week.
"I just can’t believe how hot it’s been this year," said Miriam Kochman who brought her kids to Langdon Park Pool. "It just seems worse than usual and earlier than usual, so we will definitely be coming to the pool a lot.”
It's one of about 130 cooling centers across the district.
DC Fire & EMS say they’ve added three additional ambulances to its fleet because of the extreme heat and say the past two days, they’ve responded to a slightly higher number of calls than usual.
“We have seen a spike in heat emergencies," said Freeman. "That is why we are activating the cooling centers so we can reserve our emergency resources for extreme cases.”
Some DC residents are taking it upon themselves to help keep their neighbors hydrated, like a home near the U Street Corridor with a cooler of ice-cold water for anyone that walks by.
“We’ve been putting it out the past few days," said Bryan Wimmer who put the water cooler out to provide some relief for anyone passing by. "There’s all the people with dog bowls and everything and we’re like maybe people need some water too so let’s throw some cups out there with a water pitcher.”
For more information about DC's heat emergency plan, including pet safety and free transportation to cooling centers, click here.
Do you have a news tip on this story or any other story? We want to hear from you. Tell us about it by emailing newstips@wusa9.com.
MORE WAYS TO GET WUSA9
DOWNLOAD THE WUSA9 APP
Apple App Store: WUSA9 News on Apple
Google Play Store: WUSA9 News on Android
HOW TO ADD THE FREE WUSA9+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for WUSA9.
For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "WUSA9" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE WUSA9 NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to our daily WUSA9 Newsletter for top stories from WUSA9 curated daily just for you. Get content and information right now for can’t-miss stories, Commanders content, weather, and more delivered right to your inbox.