It was 43 degrees in Yvonne Coder’s home, when she decided to take her family to the Red Cross Shelter in Issaquah Friday.

She lost power the morning before, and by time she heard about the shelter, all of her food had spoiled. A hot cup of coffee in the gym at the Issaquah Community Center was a welcome reprieve.

“Without this we would be having a tough time,” she said. “We were so cold.”

She typed away at her laptop, which got spotty Internet, while her daughter focused on a paperback book. People trickled in throughout the day as the word spread, most just looking for a place to charge their cell phones and iPads.

Bill Sammons heard about it from a friend down in California, who heard about it via the Web. Working from home most days, the snow didn’t bother him much until he lost power Thursday night, he said. “Now I’m irritated.”

The shelter will be open as long as there is a need, but likely until power comes back on for Issaquah residents, said volunteer organizer Barry Morgan. About 45 people had come in by Friday noon.

About 18,000 people were without power Thursday, and that number dropped to about 10,000 Friday morning.

Power outages are unusual for Issaquah’s Valley floor, Coder said. She was afraid it would be a couple days before power came on.

The shelter opened at 8:30 Thursday night, after the city debated what to do. It’s not typical for Issaquah to provide overnight shelter.

Several people came in for hot showers, including Bob Shea who lives at Tent City 4. The snow wasn’t a big deal for the tent community until they lost power, he said. “We get used to the weather.”

The major pain for him has been getting to work at Boeing Field or getting to community college in Seattle. A 40-minute bus ride turned into two hours with the snow.

It could be worse, he said. “It seems like they’re coping a lot better than usual.”

SHELTER INFO

301 Rainier Blvd. S.

24-hour shelter

Anyone staying at the shelter should bring:

• Prescription and emergency medications.
• Extra clothing, pillows, blankets, toiletries, important documents and other comfort items.
• For families with infants and children, remember to bring items such as diapers, formula and toys.

Pets are not allowed in shelters, except in the case of service animals for people with disabilities. For more information, call the Red Cross at 206-323-2345.

Yvonne Coder hangs out at the Issaquah Community Center, which was transformed into a Red Cross Shelter Thursday afternoon. The shelter plans to remain open until power is restored to the area.