Bellingham, WA cold weather shelters open due to dangerously cold temps

Whatcom County cold weather shelters hit capacity

Bitter cold in Whatcom County has pushed shelters to capacity as temperatures drop into the teens, prompting shelters to fill within minutes.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Shelter operators in Whatcom County say after temperatures fell to dangerous levels, they expect more bitter cold to settle in Wednesday night.

The severe weather makes it easier for those without shelter to get frostbite and hypothermia.

"It’s fairly cold, I don’t like the cold," said Jason King, a man originally from Texas, who was staying at the Lighthouse Mission in Bellingham.

"It’s very important, and you don’t want to be outside with the snow. I’m from Texas, so I don’t want to go outside," said King.

King was one of hundreds taking shelter at Lighthouse Mission Wednesday night, feeling fortunate to be welcomed there.

"It’s a nice place. Everybody here is cool. It’s just a good place," King said.

Hans Erchinger-Davis, president and CEO of Lighthouse Mission Ministries, says Lighthouse Mission was hosting around 240–250 people campus-wide Wednesday night, with expanded bed space to welcome as many as 500 if needed.

"We have stratified programs that kind of meet people where they are at," said Davis. "We had a little bit of snow today so it is definitely colder."

North of Bellingham, when the doors opened at the shelter in the United Church of Ferndale, Ferndale Community Services' Severe Weather Shelter coordinator, Ryan Booterbaugh, said they were at capacity within about six minutes.

"Lately we’ve been filling up so early," said Booterbaugh. "We were full as soon as the doors opened."

The shelter welcomes people from all over Whatcom County.

"It’s extremely dangerous when temperatures drop into the teens. You really have no shelter, maybe at best a tent and a sleeping bag. It’s always going to be more dangerous when you sleep out in the element like that," said Booterbaugh.

It will be another chilly start to the day Thursday, especially of the interior and Strait of Juan de Fuca.  (FOX 13 Seattle)

Lighthouse Mission is also supporting a daytime shelter run by the county at the mission's nearby drop-in center.

A spokesperson for Whatcom County Health and Community Services says you can find a calendar and a list of open shelters at shelterstatus.com.

Hans says they also provide services here for folks to help long after the severe weather is over.

"One of the things we found most effective with someone coming out of the woods right away due to severe weather like this is to build a sense of trust. People are coming from out in those woods, and to develop that sense of trust is absolutely necessary for somebody to take the next step," said Davis.

The city of Bellingham says its cold weather daytime shelter will be open through Saturday. 

• Bellingham Day Severe Weather Shelter1013 W. Holly St., Bellingham (Old Lighthouse Mission Drop-in Center)Open during the day: Tuesday, February 17 through Saturday, Feb. 21.Hours:  Open from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. on days after the Bellingham Severe Weather Shelter is activated at night, provided there are enough staff and volunteers available.

A link to the list of shelters can be found here. 

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