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City of Burnaby closes emergency warming shelter with freezing rain in the forecast

The City of Burnaby closed the city-provided emergency warming shelter on Dec. 23, despite a forecast for freezing rain.
Lauren Vanderdeen
Lauren Vanderdeen

Burnaby has closed its emergency warming shelter despite freezing rain in the overnight forecast.

The shelter was opened on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 7320 Buller Ave. to provide additional shelter to vulnerable people in the winter weather.

With the closure of the city-provided shelter at Buller Avenue, there are now two warming shelters open in Burnaby, with space for about 60 people. (The emergency response shelter on Sperling Avenue, with space for 20 people, was full the night of Dec. 23.)

The Buller Avenue shelter represented space for 20 people.

The city did not put out a news release regarding the closure, but has an alert on its website for homelessness support.

The NOW reached out to the city but did not hear back by deadline.

The alert states, "We have closed our Emergency Warming Centre at 7320 Buller Avenue on December 23, and will re-open again as required."

Environment Canada forecast freezing rain changing to rain for inland sections of Metro Vancouver on Dec. 23 and 24.

The city's homelessness strategy states that Burnaby's extreme weather response shelter program activates when the temperature hits 0 C at night, "or when other climatic conditions such as snow, wind chill, and extended rainfall make staying outside hazardous."

Carol-Ann Flanagan, the executive director of the Society To End Homelessness In Burnaby, said she encourages the city to open its shelter space.

"All I can say is, I'm disappointed they closed it, but we haven't closed ours," she told the NOW.

The Society to End Homelessness works with Lookout Housing Society which runs the currently open extreme weather shelter at Westminster Bible Chapel at 7540 Sixth St.

The shelter has about 27 spaces for people, according to a BC Housing map. Flanagan estimated the Westminster location saw about 18 to 20 people per night the past week and said they hadn't had to turn anyone away.

Earlier today, the City of Vancouver said it has added shelter spaces and warming centres until Dec. 26 due to "feels like" temperatures at or below 0 C. The additional spaces opened represent 88 spots for people.

Emergency weather shelters open in Burnaby

An update to this story on Jan. 27, 2023.