Oregon Public Broadcasting

The inland heat wave continues to put a dent in summer activities.

Temperatures have ranged in the low hundreds for the Willamette Valley. 

The Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Department has canceled Tuesday evening’s youth sports events, although day camps are still in session Tuesday and Wednesday.

The city says it’ll make a decision Wednesday afternoon about whether the cancellations will extend into a second day.

South of the Columbia, Portland Parks and Recreation is encouraging people to head to five community centers equipped with air conditioning. 

Spokeswoman Beth Sorenson says many of these facilities would be open late for summer anyway, so there's no overtime cost.

Beth Sorenson:  “We’ve been able to jump in real quickly because we’ve been able to do this in the past during heat waves, not only in terms of encouraging people to go to our swimming pools, all of which are open 'til at least 9PM. But also being able to extend hours on our wading pools.”

This is likely the last summer for those wading pools, where kids splash around in knee deep water. The wading pools are considered high-maintenance -- they must be frequently chlorinated, and drained when they’re not being used, since standing water spreads disease.

The drained pools have become a popular spot for skateboarders to practice their moves, and concerns have been raised about liability.

Sorenson says the city is gradually replacing the pools with spigot devices called spray features. Eleven are already in place.

Beth Sorenson  I know we have plans to open a new one in Farragut Park next summer, and we’re basically doing that as funding allows.”

The spray features are running during hours when the parks are open.