Calgarians find ways to stay cool as heat warning continues to grip much of Alberta

Anywhere there is a body of water or shade, that’s where many Calgarians gathered on very hot Thursday.

Riley Park was packed with families trying to beat the heat.

“Our family is taking advantage of the outdoor pools that’s for sure. Riley Park is one of our favourite places to be,” said Alison Pinnow, who was out with her 4-year-old daughter, Jane.

“We have a ton of sunscreen and they are always wearing hats.”

But not everyone loves the heat and sunshine. 10-year-old Nicholas Stevenson prefers the colder weather.

“I like winter because me and my brother snow board and stuff like that,” he said.

Over at Edworthy Park, Robert Laidlaw is having lunch by the water,  and said shade was an absolutely necessary side dish Thursday.

“Everything out here was open and I’m like I don’t want to sit and have my lunch being roasted.”

Environment Canada issued a heat warning for Calgary and other areas of southern Alberta with temperatures hitting the high 20s to low 30s for the next few days.

“All the big cities in Alberta and B.C. have heat warnings and this isn’t what we’ve seen before. In the west, they were sort of like one day off and one day on, but this is really a spell of weather,” said senior climatologist with Environment Canada, Dave Phillips.

“It’s like taking the Rogers Centre or BC dome and putting it right over a big chunk of geography. And it just kind of bakes the ground and broils the air and doesn’t let any weather in and it just gets hotter.”

Hotter is how Gulabi Mnani likes it. She was out walking her puppy along the Bow River and said that while she enjoys the heat, she needs to make sure her dog stays cool.

“We try to walk in the shade as much as possible. I always carry his water bottle with me and every few minutes we stop and give him some water.”

The Calgary Humane Society is reminding pet owners to leave their dogs at home while running errands and not to leave them in the car.

A spokesperson says when it’s hot outside, the temperature inside a vehicle can increase rapidly.

There were three calls to the Calgary Humane Society yesterday about dogs being left in hot cars and today so far there have been four.

If you see a dog in a hot car in distress, get the time, location and make of vehicle and call the Calgary Humane Society or Calgary Police.