City of Lawrence pausing yard waste collection, outdoor Parks & Rec sports through Thursday; heat index reaches 136°

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Post updated at 5:20 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21:

The City of Lawrence will not collect yard waste and all outdoor Parks and Recreation department sports are canceled through Thursday, Aug. 24, because of the extreme heat, according to announcements Monday.

“The AC units in the trucks can’t keep up with the temperature, so we’re moving the yard waste trucks over to our normal trash collection routes to provide more relief and breaks for our crews,” the city tweeted on Monday.

Adult sand volleyball leagues have been moved to indoor recreation centers, except for Thursday’s, which has been postponed. All adult softball, Ultimate Frisbee and youth baseball games scheduled Monday through Thursday evenings will be rescheduled, according to a news release from the city.

All rentals and field reservations for baseball, softball, soccer, football and outdoor pickleball at the courts in Lyons Park and the courts outside Sports Pavilion Lawrence have also been canceled, and refunds will be issued for those affected, according to the city.

The city announced earlier Monday that the Pooch Plunge would also be canceled and not rescheduled.

Lawrence saw a heat index of 136° on Monday and a high temperature of 104°, according to the National Weather Service office in Topeka. An excessive heat warning has been extended through Thursday evening before a cold front is expected to hit on Friday.

“Heat index values will drop a bit in the next few days, ranging from 105-120 degrees,” according to NWS.

For info about cooling sites available to the public, see this article.

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