Sisters emergency shelter closes after five days of operation amid frigid cold, snow; city may renew resolution

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) – An emergency shelter in Sisters opened as a major winter storm moved in and has closed after five days of operation in a vacant city building, under an emergency resolution approved by the City Council, City Manager Jordan Wheeler said Friday.

Wheeler said the city partnered with the Sisters Cold Weather Shelter to operate the temporary shelter last Friday through this Wednesday when the winter storm hit the area.

"Temperatures increased on Wednesday and the forecast at the time did not indicate weather within the emergency resolution’s activation criteria, so the shelter was closed that morning," Wheeler told NewsChannel 21.

The City Council’s emergency resolution is effective through next Wednesday and is on the agenda for renewal next week, he said, It allows for any appropriate facility to open as an emergency shelter when there is a winter storm warning, temperatures are at 25 degrees or lower, or more than five inches of snow is forecast in a 12-hour period.

"Using the vacant city building is a temporary option that we are able to offer this winter," the city manager said. "Historically, cold weather shelters were operated out of churches in Sisters.

"We reached out to the Sisters Cold Weather Shelter nonprofit about their capabilities and capacity for operating an emergency shelter and reopening since our small city relies on amazing community volunteers to be able to coordinate and provide that service," Wheeler said.

During the storm, the emergency overnight shelter was able to be staffed with assistance from the state’s Office of Resilience and Emergency Management, he aded.  

The emergency shelter served one person on January 12, three people on January 13, five people on January 14 and 15, and four people on January 16.