A mix of wind, rain and low temperatures made Tuesday one of the coldest nights Frank Woods can remember in a long time, with even lower temperatures in the forecast.
Woods, executive director of the Justice Van Society, spends three nights a week handing out warm clothing and food to people living on the street. He was out Tuesday supporting people trying to stay warm in tents.
The occupants of one tent, who were gathered around a propane fire trying to stay warm, were asked by the fire department to put the fire out, Woods said.
It’s a challenging situation, he said, because the fire obviously poses a serious risk if the tent were to catch fire, but the people were freezing.
“Everything in their tent is wet,” he said. “We ended up giving sweatpants and hoodies to those people.”
A man died in a tent fire on Christmas Day under Canada Place in Vancouver, and cooking paraphernalia was found in his tent.
A run of cold weather is set to arrive today in the capital region, with the overnight low expected to drop to about –9 C.
Environment Canada issued an arctic outflow warning for Thursday night through Saturday for Greater Victoria and the southern Gulf Islands, saying the wind chill will feel like –20 C and there’s a risk of frostbite and hypothermia.
With an arctic front on its way, a low of –9 C could continue for several days, said Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan.
He said the region is in for “a thermal shock” after a record-mild December.
“We’re going to see temperatures five to 10 degrees colder than normal,” he said. “We typically are down to around 1 C around this time of year.”
The daytime high is forecast to be –4 C on Friday and –2 C on Saturday.
“It’s the first time we’ve seen this in quite a while,” Castellan said.
A 30-bed space at the Salvation Army is currently the only extreme-weather shelter in Victoria, according to B.C. Housing’s list of shelters.
Extreme-weather shelters open when communities issue an alert for cold, snow or heavy rain.
Communities determine the specific weather conditions that necessitate an alert in co-ordination with B.C. Housing.
A 30-bed shelter at SOLID Outreach Society on North Park Street that started as an extreme-weather shelter is now funded to open every night in winter, B.C. Housing said.
The Victoria Native Friendship Centre, which runs a 25-bed year-round shelter, said it has seen an increase in demand since the cold weather hit.
In December, the shelter averaged about 15 people a night, but since the cold and rain set in this week, it’s back at capacity, said executive director Ron Rice.
On Tuesday, the centre gave everyone staying at the shelter rain-proof winter coats and base layers to stay warm during the day, when the shelter is closed.
At Our Place, demand for shelter beds has remained fairly consistent, with 50 beds full and 28 people on a waiting list Tuesday, said communications director Grant McKenzie. The size of the waiting list Tuesday night is not unusual, he said.
In Port Alberni, an extreme-weather shelter run by the Salvation Army has been open since Saturday, said Lisa George, the shelter manager and director of community resources.
George expects the 20 extreme-weather beds will remain open through the weekend based on the forecast showing below-freezing temperatures and a chance of flurries. Those beds are in addition to 25 beds available in any weather.
George said the two shelters have been about 60 per cent full this week, and it can be hit or miss whether they fill up.
Snow in the capital region remains a possibility, and could come some time today.
“We don’t actually have our sights on when that snow event is going to occur,” Castellan said.
Environment Canada is calling for a chance of flurries in Victoria tonight, but is no longer forecasting snow for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“The chances of snow are higher as you go up the Island,” Castellan said. “Victoria will get a glancing blow, maybe.”
An Environment Canada special weather statement says the east coast of the Island could see significant snowfall this afternoon.
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