Fresno’s Warming Center Policy Kills 

Tragically, two unhoused Fresno community members, identified by the Fresno County Coroner’s office as 50-year-old Ronald Wallace and 52-year-old Denise Celis died in their tent from carbon monoxide poisoning overnight on Dec. 11 while attempting to stay warm in 40-degree temperatures.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Wallace and Celis were found dead by a friend near the Highway 180 on-ramp off Abby Street in downtown Fresno on the morning of Dec. 12.

Last winter, several unhoused people died from hypothermia and exposure. Every winter, someone dies. These deaths could have been avoided if the City of Fresno had opened the warming centers for the winter season.

In 2024, the centers opened for only four nights because of the City’s policy to only open warming centers at 34 degrees or less. This policy is cruel, inhumane and causes immense suffering.

Failing to open the warming centers now will cause more deaths from accidents and hypothermia.

The City should open its three warming centers and a fourth center in north Fresno at this time for the duration of winter. The unhoused of Fresno, especially the elderly and disabled, who are the majority using the warming centers, are at risk of suffering exposure and hypothermia. Many of them have no tents, sleeping bags or even blankets; some have no warm jackets.

The most common causes of hypothermia are exposure to cold-weather conditions or cold water. But, prolonged exposure to any environment colder than your body can lead to hypothermia if you aren’t dressed appropriately or can’t control your body temperature.

Older adults are more likely to have a cold injury, especially hypothermia, because their normal body temperature can decrease with age. They can’t regulate their body temperature as well. They do not produce as much heat energy. They also have less body fat.

Their blood vessels do not narrow (constrict) and conserve body heat as easily. They do not shiver as much. Shivering warms the body.

Their mental awareness of changes in temperatures might change. They have medical conditions that increase their risk for hypothermia. There are many medical and health conditions that  contribute to cold injury and hypothermia.

Whatever one’s age, sleeping in the damp winter cold of Fresno is a miserable experience. Think about it.