(Washington, DC)  The District of Columbia will implement its multi-agency heat plan, beginning Monday, August 10, 2009, in response to a forecast calling for temperatures in the upper nineties over the next several days.  The plan will remain in effect as long as the daily high temperature reaches 95 degrees. 

The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation has announced it will extend hours at city aquatic facilities including spray parks and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

Street showers will be activated at designated locations at DC Housing Authority facilities, and cooling centers will be opened at 441 4th Street, N.W; the Reeves Municipal Center, 2000 14th Street, NW; King Office Building, 3720 MLK Avenue, SE and 920 Rhode Island Avenue, NE. Cooling centers also will be opened for seniors at facilities that are part of the DC Office on Aging’s senior service network and the DC Housing Authority.

For more information about ways to beat the heat, visit http://72hours.dc.gov and the extreme weather section on the HSEMA website.