AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine is once again experiencing high temperatures and humidity, causing the city of Augusta's child care center to scale back its hours due to safety concerns.
It's director, Bethany Sproul-Lebrun, said staff haven't been able to keep temperatures inside the classrooms below 80 degrees, so the center has scheduled half-days to get through the beginning of the week.
"Really from noontime to 4 p.m. has just become unsafe to have them outside or in our classrooms," she said. "When you put 20 to 22 bodies in here, it just cannot maintain the temperature."
The city's summer camp cares for nearly 130 children, ages 4 to 11, from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. But due to the heat, the center closed at 1:30 p.m. Monday, followed by noon closures for Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Buker Community Center, which is where the child care programs are located, does not have central air conditioning, Sproul-Lebrun said. There are six classrooms, each with two portable air conditioning units.
"The kids are safer at home with four or five people in a living room than with 22 in a classroom," she said.
The Maine Emergency Management Agency is urging local towns to open cooling centers when the temps reach 90 degrees, especially when the heat stays for three or more days.
"Maine doesn't often see too many extreme heat days, but when we do, we just want to make sure people are taking it seriously," MEMA's Public Information Officer Vanessa Corson said.
Corson advises people who are outside to wear sunscreen, hydrate, and wear light-colored, cool clothing.
Click here to view MEMA's list of open cooling centers across the state or you can call 211 and an operator will tell you the nearest cooling center to you.
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