AURORA, Colo. — Aurora residents are taking advantage of city pools and splash pads as temperatures approach triple digits this week, bringing high fire danger along with the heat.
The city of Aurora has not yet activated its cooling centers — which open only when temperatures reach 100 degrees or higher. Meteorologists say that threshold is very likely in the coming days.
At the Great Plains Park splash pad, families were already finding ways to beat the heat. Alicia Aragon was there with her two grandsons, who spent the afternoon laughing and running through the water.
"They're from Pueblo, and they came up to spend some summer days with me," Aragon said.
Aragon said the heat was no match for her home A/C unit.
"Even in the house, they're like, Nana, it's too hot, Nana," Aragon said.
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For her family, the splash pad was a welcome discovery.
"This is our first time here, so we're kind of making our [way around town] finding different ones [this week]," Aragon said.
Nearby, Antoinette Samora and her friends were cooling off in the shade.
"Yes, it is so hot today. I was melting earlier, but thank God for AC and this cool breeze that we have going right now!" Samora laughed.
While Aurora’s cooling centers remained closed Monday, the city of Denver opened nearly 50 cooling centers to help community members escape the high heat and hydrate.
Even then, they’re usually not people’s first choice for getting out of the heat, according to Amber Campbell of the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.
"I don't think they're as highly utilized as we would like to see," Campbell said. " We want people to really know that you don't have to be experiencing homelessness to come to one of these cooling centers. They're really meant for everyone in Denver. If you don't have air conditioning, if your air conditioner is broken, if you're just out at the park and you're like, wow, I'm getting really hot, I need to go cool down, you can just come in."
Families at the splash pad said they are grateful for the cool-down options available across the city.
"The pools here are clean, friendly, so it's worth it," Aragon said.
Samora had simple advice for anyone heading out this week.
"Bring your water. Bring your umbrella. Just stay as cool as possible," Samora said.
See Aurora's full pool and splash pad list here.
Pool Operating Schedule:
Daily Operations: Aqua Vista, Del Mar, Meadow Hills, and Parklane pools will maintain daily service.
Weekday-Only Operations: Pheasant Run and Village Green pools will operate Monday through Friday and remain closed on weekends.
Extended Summer Schedule: Starting Sunday, August 9th through Labor Day, Del Mar will be the exclusive pool operating on weekends only. All other pools will conclude their season on August 8th.
Pool entry fees are $7 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors.
Splash pads are free to the public and are open daily between 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Friday, May 22 to Monday, Sept. 7.
