THERMAL, Calif. (AP) - Authorities say smoke from a dump fire burning in the Southern California desert sent 14 students to the hospital and briefly closed four schools.
The fire began Monday and is burning mulch at the Sun Valley Recycling Center.
Cal Fire says Thursday morning, it answered reports that students were having breathing problems at Desert Mirage High School in Thermal. Fourteen with minor respiratory symptoms were taken to hospitals.
Classes were cancelled at Desert Mirage High School, Toro Canyon Middle School and Las Palmitas Elementary School, which share a campus. College of the Desert also canceled classes at its Thermal campus.
The Desert Sun of Palm Springs says federal authorities ordered the dump’s immediate closure on Wednesday. Site operator Kevin Carey told the paper that arsonists had repeatedly set blazes at the site.
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