Bethel's new pool and fitness center will open Tuesday for the first time since the Nov. 1 grand opening, the pool manager announced on Facebook. Volunteers were trained over the weekend and on Monday for fire watch duty.
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Aquatic Health & Safety Center has been closed because of a lack of water pressure for the fire suppression system. The state fire marshal said it could open with people on duty for fire watch.
"What a great community we live in! The Fire Safety Volunteers have stepped up and committed their time to a schedule to get the doors open!" the center said Monday evening on Facebook.
Bev Hoffman, a Bethel resident who pushed three decades for the pool, said in an email that she and about 15 other volunteers expect to do fire watch for the next two weeks. The fitness center is expected to be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 8 p.m. on the weekends.