montanans pitch in to bring clean air to smoky classrooms - where to buy air purifiers

So far this year has burned more than millions of acres of Montana forests and pastures, causing unhealthy air across the state since the medium termJuly.
On August, the health department of misura County took unprecedented measures to recommend the evacuation of the entire town of Seeley Lake due to smoking;
On August 1, the air there was classified as a "dangerous" level for 35 days.
Now, the fire season has been extended to the school year, and many schools in western Montana have locked their children in because of smoke.
But that doesn't mean they can breathe clean air.
In order for more classrooms to have air filters installed, some community partnerships are on the rise.
The French town on the far west side of misurah County also has poor air quality;
To the east is Lake Seeley.
On the most recent afternoon, the recess of the French town primary school was in full swing, and the students were all indoors.
About 60 children are surrounded by smaller gyms.
Elastic ball sailing on top of head, jumping fuzzy
The rope almost scratched its limbs. Juliana Palen-
Goodsell describes the way the scene is only 9-year-old can.
"It's kind of like a lot of red ants," she said . "
"They run around and hit people with balls.
Really crazy.
"It was a bit too much for Goodsell, so she chose to watch a movie, and the other 100 + fourth graders were crammed into a very warm classroom.
The smoke from the raging fire in the area has kept students in the French town indoors for almost a whole week.
No air conditioning.
Administrators must make quick decisions throughout school day about whether children are safe to play outside.
Assistant principal Ashley Parks relies on the latest information from the Department of Environmental Quality of the State Council to monitor the concentration of fine particulate matter in the air.
"We check every hour," said Parkes . "
"On days like today we don't need to check it because we know it's bad and we know it's going to be bad all day.
"This is because the burning trees release tiny particles and gases into the air, which is harmful to everyone's respiratory system.
Because their lungs are still developing, children are particularly vulnerable.
Even closing the window and keeping the child indoors is not a complete solution.
Only a special type of filter can purify the air by removing particulate matter from the smoke.
The filter costs about $130 each, and it takes two to clean the air in one classroom.
But most schools in misura County do not.
This has troubled Sarah Cofield, an air quality expert at the misurra County Health Department.
She said the wildfire season was affected by what no one had expected.
"It caught us off guard and felt like a lot of confusion and a lot of throwing bands --
"Air filters and AIDS trying to catch up," she said . ".
This is partly because there is no ready-made source of funds dedicated to creating safe air space.
The county is now setting aside funds for public health emergencies.
Coefield has been trying to get away with this issue.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Health
In collaboration with the local non-profit organization climate intelligence misurra, the aim is to distribute air filters to the elderly.
But when this year's fire season began to extend to the beginning of the school year, some towns like Seeley Lake were covered with catastrophic smoke and they saw another demand.
"These children are expected to sit in the smoke. All day.
Go to the classroom in the morning, where the smoke is incredible.
"The early morning smoke is terrible on Lake Seeley," said Coefield.
Over the past few weeks, the priorities of the co-workers have been transferred to classrooms in areas where air quality is the most dangerous for as many air filters as possible.
With the help of schools and groups such as Union Road, partners have gathered enough resources to provide efficient air filtration devices for several schools.
They are not in the unit at the moment but are trying to get more.
Sarah Coefield wants them to lay a better foundation for a future where wildfire and smoke can only get worse, but it still feels like triage.
"Being able to install filters in some classrooms makes us feel like we're doing something," she said . ".
"I'm not just screaming into the void, 'it's bad, it's bad, it's bad!
We are trying to do something more proactive. intervention.
This is not enough, though.
"But their work has inspired others to take similar actions.
Back at frencedown Elementary School, a new batch of HEPA air filtration devices had just arrived and were delivered to each classroom two by two.
These appliances are due to the efforts of parents Melissa Reynolds.
There are two children going there.
"After the first day I put them in school, I saw what happened and I personally bought two air purifiers for my kids class.
Then I went home that night and thought, what about the other kids?
"When she found out that schools could not afford air purifiers because of state budget cuts, the county health department focused on more serious areas and she took the matter in her own hands.
Bear Trust International, a non-profit organization operated by her, Renault-
Hoagland launched a campaign called "clean air in the classroom.
They raised nearly $10,000.
Enough to buy filters for each classroom in French town primary and secondary schools.
Companies that provide filters for schools are selling at a discount.
"I know everyone is growing economically and everyone has work to do," said Renault . "Hoagland.
"I know I have a chance, so I just want to see if I can unite our community. And it worked.
Good people.
They want to help.
This is just a platform for everyone.
"The story is part of a partnership with NPR, Montana Public Radio and Kaiser Health News.