Heat advisory in effect as Eagles Manor heats up

High temperatures are currently a safety threat to people in Havre, as the National Weather Service in Great Falls issued a heat advisory, in effect from noon today to 9 p.m. Friday, that includes Havre.

Temperatures above 100 degrees may continue today through Saturday and reach a record-breaking 107 degrees Friday, National Weather Service forecast predicts.

Safety warnings

“Heat exhaustion or stroke is possible if proper precautions are not taken,” the heat advisory said. “… Temperatures in parked cars can become lethal in a matter of minutes.”

More than 600 people in the United States are killed by extreme heat every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its web page.

People who are elderly, very young, ill, medicated or overweight are especially at risk, the page says.

“If you are 65 years of age or older,” the CDC page adds, “have a friend or relative call to check on you twice a day during a heat wave. If you know someone in this age group, check on them at least twice a day.”

Eagles Manor residents

As the heat intensifies, Havre’s Eagles Manor retirement living facility’s central air conditioning system remains broken while sale negotiations for the building continue to stall.

Some residents of Havre’s Eagles Manor retirement living facility are in their 90s, a residents’ council member told the Havre Daily News Aug. 2.

The manor’s board can’t do much now about the broken air conditioning since ownership of the the building is still in transition, Tom Farnham, board president of Eagles Manor, said Wednesday.

“Almost everybody has an air conditioner or a fan in their rooms,” Farnham said. “Some of them didn’t care for A/C so they have fans.”

A residents’ council member who wished to remain anonymous said today that only a few people had air conditioners in their rooms, which they had bought themselves.

“Probably only half a dozen (people),” the resident said.

Residents are moving out now, worried that the heat will not work in the winter, the resident added.

“Four or five people have given notice for Sept. 1,” the resident said.

Only two window air conditioners were visible on the building from the ground Wednesday, when AccuWeather.com reported temperatures reached 97 degrees with “blazing sunshine.”

Several residents had their windows open and did not have light-blocking curtains.

The common rooms have air conditioners, Farnham said.

The air conditioners were donated by Ron Harmon, owner of Big Equipment, who told the Daily News that they were installed in the common rooms on the top three floors.

Solutions to the heat

Electric fans will not prevent heat-related illness when the temperature is in the high 90s, despite any comfort they provide, CDC reports on its web page. The page adds, “Taking a cool shower or bath or moving to an air-conditioned place is a much better way to cool off.

“Stay in an air-conditioned place as much as possible. If your home does not have air conditioning, go to the shopping mall or public library — even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat,” the page recommends.

The Havre City Pool will be open Friday, the hottest day. Lap swims will be held from 6 to 8 a.m., noon to 1 p.m., and 6 to 7 p.m., with recreational swims from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.

Future for Eagles Manor

Havre is known for its extreme summers and winters.

This winter, contrary to fears a residents’ board member expressed to the Daily News, should not be a problem for heat, Farnham said. He said the heating system at Eagles Manor will not be affected by the broken air conditioning system.

“When they turn the boilers on they’ll put the new pumps on,” Farnham said. “It’s the pumps they’re having trouble with.”

Kirk Bruce, executive director of Affiliated Developers Inc., said Tuesday that negotiations with the bank for his company to buy Eagles Manor were still ongoing. If Affiliated Developers buys the property they will assume the $125,000 loan the city of Havre approved in June to make repairs.

Bruce added that he would contact the Daily News when negotiations ended.