While swimming pools in Los Angeles County have typically closed in mid-August in recent years, the facilities will remain open until October 31 this season, Director Janice Hahn announced Monday.

“The warm weather is not over and neither is pool season in Los Angeles County,” said Hahn, who led the effort to keep pools open longer. “It never made sense for our pools to close in mid-August, and I am grateful that with the support of my colleagues and the hard work of our Parks and Recreation Department, we can keep our pools open to the public through Halloween.”

This is the first year the pools will be open 6 days a week, and they will remain open through the end of October. LA County Parks and Recreation, which manages 41 pools at 30 locations, has hired more lifeguards and the county has increased the starting salary for those positions by 20% to $23.86 an hour.

The department hired 356 new lifeguards and rehired another 224, bringing the total number of lifeguards to nearly 600.

LA County also invested in new lighting at the pools so swimmers can enjoy the pools when the sun rises later and sets earlier in the fall. Residents can participate in several programs at the recreation and parks facilities, such as low-cost swim teams, water aerobics for seniors, and the first-ever “Summer Parks After Dark” series of events at the pools, to name a few.

The opening hours of the swimming pools have been slightly adjusted for the autumn. A complete list of the district’s swimming pools can be found online here.