The B.C. heat dome had a deadly impact on New Westminster. 5 years later, cooling is top of mind

5 years after B.C.'s lifelessly heat up covered stadium, young Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone still gets emotional remembering the extreme weather event.

"It was really hard on our first responders, they were dealing with an emergency they hadn't seen before — the ambulance system failed, the 911 system failed because of the scale of the emergency regionally. We learned a lot about how unprepared we were."

The B.C. Coroners Service reported there were 619 heat-related deaths during the five-day heat event from June 25 to July 1, 2021

Thirty-three of the deaths were in New Westminster — east of Vancouver — the highest per-capita death toll in the province.

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"What we found is people that were older, those who lived alone and those who didn't have access to cooling places — so air conditioning in their house — were the hardest hit," said Dr. Lindsay Bowthorpe, Fraser Health’s medical health officer.

"When you're in an urban city, lots of concrete buildings, not a lot of green space, those heat up."

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Since the heat dome, Bowthorpe said New Westminster has been "very proactive" in its approach to cooling.

Johnstone said the city consciously resolved to take every action it could to be prepared for another extreme heat event, including commissioning a report to identify priority areas for outdoor cooling.

On Monday, city council received an update on some of the work to keep residents cool, with staff detailing efforts to expand a network of drinking fountains and stations that spray mist and fill water bottles.

The city now has 13 misting stations, each installed at a cost of about $10,000 to $15,000.

Two of them were added last year — one in the Brow of the Hill neighbourhood that was hardest hit during the heat dome.

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Bowthorpe said the stations are an effective tool that cities can use to help keep people cool in public spaces.

"It is important to drink lots of water when it is hot. So definitely having access to water is helpful and the misting stations can provide some cooling," she said.

The stations are part of a wider strategy that includes planting more trees for shade, handing out cool kits to vulnerable residents and opening cooling centres during hot weather.

This spring, the city passed a bylaw that requires landlords to maintain safe temperatures in at least one room of a tenant's apartment.

They are interventions that Gary Rodden, co-chair of community advocacy group ACORN's New Westminster chapter, says are needed.

With about 80,000 residents, according to 2021 census data, living in a city of around 16 square kilometres, Rodden said close to half of New Westminster's residents live in apartments, many of which lack air conditioning.

"That makes people vulnerable in extreme heat," he said.

"So we have to take it very seriously, which I think the City of New Westminster is doing with the maximum heat bylaw and the misting stations and the water fountains."

Johnstone believes the heat bylaw will be tested in court, but said he'd rather see similar regulations implemented province-wide.

In the meantime, the city says it plans to expand the drinking fountain and misting network — though no additional sites have currently been selected.

"We recognize we still have some gaps in the city where we could place a few more," Johnstone said.

"Those gaps are based on where the vulnerable populations are and where the urban heat island is most effective, so where the temperatures are highest."

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