Luckily some schools are on summer break during the Sand Fire.  The air is mostly blue again but it's really hot and the fire in Santa Clarita is still broiling with smoke, firefighters and an ungoing blaze. Southern California is aflame and residents want to know what to do with ashes on the cars, darkened almost biblical foreboding skies, 330,000 acres burning, and only 10 percent containment. With one death and 18 houses gone, it's a moment of looking how to help out or to learn how to prevent forest fires that could occur next door. It's a time to look at our own preparation for disaster and to learn how to communicate if we don't have a plan or to listen if someone professional asks us to evaculate immediately.  54 miles have been scorched and there is still a large plume in the air this afternoon.

What do you do with an ongoing fire in continuing warm weather-?  Learn to stay cool. Pay attention, keep windows closed, get an air filter for your car or for you apartment, make it a learning and teachable moment about using a SMART phone, trusting your reactions, learning about triggers, responding and drinking water or acting to keep save and to understand what is going on. Whether you want cooler weather or a cooler living space, its necessary to know what to do and what not to do and pay attention.

In the links below, you can see public information about seeing the map of your area or info about self- care and care for others.  Evacuation orders to working with volunteers to help those in crisis…the fires require responsive citizens and courageous firemen.  Some people are sheltering animals while other are following directions protecting children, seniors, and those with impaired breathing conditions.

If you are a teacher, you may want to put out a dish of petroleum jelly and look at ashes and aerosols or work with photos and observation sheets to study the impact of wildfires on our neighborhood.  You may want to report to the Sage III or Calypso satellites and/or watch SciGirls or make your school cool by becoming a STEM student or citizen science reporter.  With perfect conditions for more SoCal fires with high pressure across the west and continuing high temperatures this week, it's a great time to talk about Ben Franklin and the Farmers Almanac to the Weather Channel and the Sage III satellite, what a fireman does for a living or how to evacuate yourself or a horse.  Take care and drink water...it's going to be burning a while longer.

National Weather Service or resource data:

http://www.weather.gov/organization/

http://www.globalchange.gov/browse

New Apps:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.weather.Weather

http://www.globe.gov/do-globe/apps

S'cool and "What's up with the Atmosphere?"- GLOBE:

http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/skycolor/

https://scool.larc.nasa.gov/

Wildfires:

https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=topics.smoke_wildfires

Asthma Triggers:

https://aaac.duhs.duke.edu/patient-resources/asthma-basics/asthma-triggers

Personal big data:

https://www3.epa.gov/myenv/myenview2.html?minx=-118.93250&miny=34.26062&maxx=-118.17032&maxy=34.54955&ve=10,34.41347,-118.55188&pSearch=Santa%20Clarita,%20CA

https://airnow.gov/

Allergies to management:

https://www.epa.gov/air-quality-management-process

From 34 to 52 miles and 18 lost homes:

http://ktla.com/2016/07/24/destructive-sand-fire-grows-to-22000-acres-evacuations-in-effect-as-out-of-control-blaze-rages/

Indoor Air:

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/indoorairquality/faqs.html

What to do afterwards:

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa_46.pdf

New Technologies:

www.foobot.io