2 of Anchorage’s 3 emergency warming centers close as low temperatures ease

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson on Sunday announced the closure of two of the city’s three emergency warming centers as temperatures rose above zero degrees, saying the facilities were seeing a decrease in use.

The warming areas at the Aviator Hotel in downtown and the city-owned former Golden Lion hotel closed Sunday at 8 a.m., the mayor’s office said in a written statement. A third warming center remains open at the city’s large group shelter on East 56th Avenue.

On Jan. 26, Bronson declared a 48-hour public health and safety emergency and the city opened the three warming facilities for up to 30 people at each location. The Assembly then extended the emergency declaration to Feb. 13.

At the time, the city faced a prolonged cold snap with double-digit subzero temperatures, with an estimated 200 to 300 homeless residents living unsheltered in Anchorage.

Temperatures in Anchorage returned to a more normal range on Sunday.

The city’s warming center at the 56th Avenue shelter is scheduled to close at the end of the emergency, according to the mayor’s office.

At the peak of warming center operations, 23 people used The Golden Lion in 24-hour period, 32 used The Aviator Hotel and 68 people used the warming area at the 56th Avenue shelter, according to the mayor’s office.