Emergency Preparedness

Cooling Centers are opened on an as-needed basis depending on forecasted temperatures.

Locations

• Pan American Community Center — 703 E. Sherwood Way
  8:00 am – 7:00 pm on days of activation
  
  
• Madera Police Department Lobby — 330 South C Street
  Available 24 hours per day on days of activation

Please call (559) 661-5495 for the Parks & Community Services Department to confirm current Cooling Center operating dates and times.

Activation Policy

City officials monitor weather conditions using www.weather.gov and may activate cooling centers at any time temperatures are forecast to meet or exceed 105°F, or when temperatures are expected to meet or exceed 100°F for two or more consecutive days. Cooling centers are generally available on weekdays; weekend activation may occur depending on weather conditions.

The public can visit www.madera.gov to confirm whether cooling centers are currently active.

Free Transportation

Madera Metro offers free rides to cooling centers between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm on days of activation.

• Board any Route 1 (Purple Line) or Route 2 (Orange Line) bus and let the driver know you are headed to the cooling center at the Madera Police Department.
• Board any Route 4 (Blue Line) bus to access the cooling center at the Pan American Community Center.

For Dial-A-Ride (as available), riders must advise dispatch when scheduling pick-up that they wish to be taken to a cooling center. Contact Dial-A-Ride at (559) 661-7433.

Protecting Your Health

Cooling centers are open to the public and are intended to provide relief for those without access to air conditioning. Heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke occur when the body's temperature control system becomes overloaded. Children, older adults, and people with chronic illnesses are at the greatest risk.

For more information on staying safe during extreme heat, see PG&E's Guide to Staying Cool & Safe.

Residents with questions may contact the City of Madera Department of Parks and Community Services at (559) 661-5495. The City's Cooling Centers are made possible through grant funds from Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines hazard mitigation as “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards.” Another way to understand hazard mitigation is as the prevention component of the emergency management process.

To address hazard mitigation in the Madera County planning area, Madera County is partnering with the cities of Chowchilla and Madera to update the 2018 Madera County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP).

The purpose of the 2026 Madera County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) is to reduce long-term risk and loss to people, property, the environment, and local economies in the Madera County planning area while bolstering community resilience in the face of future natural disasters. Additionally, communities with a FEMA-approved LHMP are eligible to apply for FEMA pre- and post-disaster mitigation grant funding.

2026 LHMP Development Process

Madera County and the two cities are kicking off their LHMP update with meetings in April 2025 and anticipate completing the plan in late spring 2026. For additional information on this project, upcoming meetings, and how to get involved, visit Madera County | LHMP. The Madera County LHMP webpage will be updated regularly throughout the project.

For more information, contact Wendy Silva, Human Resources Director with the City of Madera, or Sergeant Joseph Wilder, LHMP Project Lead at Madera County OES.

2026 LHMP Documents

Mitigation Plan Outreach Flyer
Madera County LHMP Press Release Project Announcement Kickoff Meetings

Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Update

California OES

Centers for Disease Control

American Red Cross

Homeland Security