The National Weather Service has extended its excessive heat warning for much of San Diego County until 8 p.m. Wednesday. The blistering heat is especially dangerous for children who are back in school for the fall semester.
School districts in North and East County are dealing with some of the most sweltering inland temperatures.
In the Poway Unified School District, Mt. Carmel High School has moved all P.E. classes inside or outside to the school swimming pool to keep students safe.
Kaden Patel is a freshman playing basketball in the air-conditioned gym this week.
“I go outside a lot, but not recently because it’s so hot. I also have baseball practice later and it’s going to suck," he said.
School administrators kept students off the tennis courts, and other playing fields to offer as much protection as possible.
The Mt. Carmel campus also has an air-conditioned weight room and dance studio for P.E. classes to meet the rest of the week if necessary.
“The hard part about this heat is they don’t grow up in it. It just hits them one day. It’s 80,80, 80, and then, boom! 100 degrees. Our bodies aren’t ready for that," said Sean Carter, who is chairman of the school P.E. department.
In the Santee School District, officials reported more cases of students complaining of heat-related illness. All nine campuses are air conditioned and the district has reached out to families with a list of precautions to stay safe at school and at home.
“We're checking in with students and staff to make sure all our kids, especially the medically fragile kids, are getting enough water. They're staying indoors (when possible) or in the shade and (school nurses) report heat-related illnesses," said Cori Harris, the Santee School District Communications and Community Outreach Director.
It has also become a teachable moment for students at Hill Creek Elementary in the Santee District.
A second-grade class of students conducted an experiment by cooking eggs on the asphalt on Tuesday. It was that hot in Santee. Monday, they melted crayons to observe the effect of triple-digit heat.
