Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection recommended Thursday that young children, older people and those with respiratory problems avoid outdoor activities and prolonged exertion outside. The agency declared a “code red” for air quality and noted that the smoke was concentrated in the western part of the state.
Maggie Groce, one of the directors of the summer camp program at Tanglewood Nature Center in Elmira, New York, said kids were staying inside as the air quality level hit 183 — in the dangerous red zone.
“Ideally, we would love for them to be outside in nature, on the trails, so this has thrown a wrench on our plans,” Groce said.
As the center’s day camps for elementary school children began this week, science projects with papier-mache volcanoes were being built inside, using kiddie pools to contain the mess.
Other common camp activities such as hiking and general running around have been called off. Groce said the older children understand, but it’s been harder for the younger ones — particularly with a blue sky and the sun out behind the haze.
“It’s been really hard to explain to them on a perfectly sunny day that they can’t be outside,” she said.
Zides said some of the many camps in the Poconos and northeastern Pennsylvania have air-conditioned buildings where campers can gather, and a few even offer air-conditioned cabins. COVID-era air filtration systems were coming in handy to ameliorate the effect of the smoke.
“We are doing all we can to provide the safest environment to all of our kids and monitoring whatever it is that’s going on,” Zides said. “If it means that we’ve got to keep them indoors for certain parts of the day, the majority of the camps have wonderful indoor spaces with fantastic program areas.”