Residents can take the following precautions to ensure they are safe in the heat:

1. Stay hydrated.
2. Plan your day to limit sun and heat exposure at the hottest periods! Take breaks to get out of the heat or sun.
3. Never leave pets or children in hot cars. In this type of heat, cracking the window is not enough, and pets and children can becoming very ill or even die from being left in hot vehicles. A car can heat up more than 10 degrees in as little as 5-10 minutes.
4. Extreme heat affects infants and small children more quickly and dramatically than adults because of their size. Their core temperature can increase three to five times faster than that of an adult.

Support is available for those needing support in the heat:

• If there is a medical emergency, call 9-1-1.
• If you see someone in distress or in need of support, call 2-1-1 and press 2 for the Social Diversion Team.

Energy Conservation

In extreme temperatures, it’s natural that our energy use increases as we work to regulate temperature in our homes and facilities. To ensure electrical demand does not exceed the province’s supply, we are encouraging residents to take a few steps to conserve energy:

• Save higher consumption activities such as running your dishwasher or laundry until later in the evening, after 8 p.m. Peak energy use hours are typically from 3 to about 8 p.m.
• If you’re using air conditioning, keep the temperature reasonable to conserve energy and consider increasing it a degree or two if you’re not home or before you go to bed.
• Close the blinds. Keep your home cooler by closing the blinds on the east side in the mornings, on the south side all day, and on the west side in the evenings. Closing your blinds can block up to 65 per cent of the heat. In the evenings, open windows to allow air to flow through.
• Hang dry laundry. Your dryer uses the most energy of all appliances in your home. Try hang drying your laundry instead of using the dryer. If using a dryer, use dryer balls, which help separate your clothes, reducing drying time.
• Turn off the lights when you’re leaving the room, even for a short period of time.
• Save water to save energy! When you reduce how much hot water you use, you’re using less energy, so try reducing your shower times to cut down on your water use, and wash laundry in cold water using cold water detergent. Click here for more water conservation tips.
• Click here for more energy-saving tips.