Air Quality Alters Local Sports Practice
PALM DESERT – A smoke advisory is in effect for parts of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains, the Hemet San Jacinto area, and parts of Los Angeles County this Friday. This is all due the wildfires burning in the Southland.
With Friday’s low air quality and high heat, some of our local schools are making adjustments to outdoor practices.
“It does give cause for concern,” says Rick Majors, Desert Sands Unified School District’s risk management manager.
Fires continue burning throughout the state and our local mountains. They are stirring up smoke which is mixing with heat and creating a potentially dangerous recipe.
“We are concerned for the safety of our students and employees,” says Majors.
Leaders at Desert Sands Unified School District keep a close eye on air quality and heat. Every morning, Rick Majors evaluates the outdoor conditions, when warnings arise he alerts the schools.
“Depending on the forecast, if it reaches unhealthy for sensitive groups, we send out email alerts,” says Majors.
Currently our local air quality is in that moderate to unhealthy range.
“Each principal at each site makes their own decisions based on the recommendations,” says Majors.
La Quinta High School acted on this warning. Temps are expected to top out around 114 and air quality is low. To keep kids safe, football practice was a little different and lighter.
“We went in shells, which means just helmets and shoulder pads,” says Dan Armstrong, La Quinta High School Athletic Director and Football Coach.” We just worked on polishing up and didn’t have a lot of contact or strenuous stuff.”
Practice changes are common given the desert heat, fires and wind.
“A lot of times we bring them into the gym for conditioning to shield ourselves from the outdoors,” says Armstrong. ” If we get that warning, right away we start making adjustments.”
These adjustments and the air quality updates protect students from the valley’s extreme conditions.
“We are always aware of what is going on out there,” says Armstrong.
Anyone in areas where you can smell smoke or where it’s visible should avoid outdoor activities. For more information on the air quality go to http://www.aqmd.gov/.
