Code Purple air alert moves summer camps indoors for kids' safety

AMBLER, Pa. - Twin Spring Farm Day Camp in Montgomery County kept campers indoors Friday, July 17 after a Code Purple Air Quality Alert was issued across Pennsylvania, according to camp leaders.

What we know:

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a statewide Code Purple Air Quality Alert because of smoke from Canadian wildfires. 

Camp Director Eddie Bush said the camp has spent the last two days operating on a rainy-day schedule, moving nearly every activity indoors to keep campers safe.

Normally, campers would spend much of the day outside swimming, playing soccer, kickball and other outdoor games. Instead, the camp replaced outdoor activities with talent shows, concerts, dance-offs, arts and crafts, games and a rock-paper-scissors competition.

Twin Spring Farm Day Camp is celebrating its 82nd year and has weathered plenty of challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and severe weather, Bush said. Adapting to unexpected situations has become part of the camp’s tradition.

The empty playgrounds and quiet pools painted an unusual picture at the camp. 

"As you can see, we have children laughing and screaming and playing, and it’s quiet. All you can hear is the water and the slides," said Bush. "But if you go into the rooms, if you go to our gym, you’ll hear all that laughing and screaming and fun that’s happening inside there."

What they're saying:

"It’s not a normal day, but inside it feels very normal," said instructor Kelly Jones, who has three kids in camp. "Everybody’s doing all kinds of different things. Everybody’s having fun and staying cool. I asked my son yesterday if he had an okay day, and he looked at me like it was just a regular day."

Bush said families have been understanding after the camp notified parents about the schedule changes through email and social media. 

"Some of them came with their bathing suits thinking they were going to go swimming," Bush said. "Once the parents saw the email from us and our Facebook post that we were going to do everything indoors, I heard no complaints from families. I heard no complaints from the kids. Again, the main purpose here is to keep everybody safe."

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says a Code Purple Air Quality Alert means the air is considered very unhealthy. 

Officials advise everyone to reduce outdoor activity, while children, teenagers, older adults and people with heart or lung disease should avoid strenuous outdoor activities altogether.

Despite the changes, campers are still finding ways to have fun indoors, showing that summer camp spirit can continue even when plans change.

What we don't know:

It is not clear when outdoor activities will resume at Twin Spring Farm Day Camp. There is no information yet on how long the Code Purple Air Quality Alert will remain in effect.