Administrators keep close eye on triple-digit heat as students return to school

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- It isn't your typical ice cream sundae.

Every year at Tulare Western High School, 200 feet of rain gutters lined with foil are filled with heaps of ice cream, for all students, but freshmen in particular, to enjoy.

It's a pretty sweet treat on a scorching August day.

"Well they had to eat fast, cause it's hot out there and it was melting pretty quick but I think they enjoyed it," said school principal Kevin Covert

Covert says students stay out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day, but he believes the school is ready to respond to any kind of heat-related emergency.

"We're fortunate enough to have a lot of benches and areas where there's a lot of shade. And so there's ample areas for kids to kind of get out of the sun and stay as cool as they can during this triple-digit heat," he said.

Mia Johnson and Kimberly Barela /Tulare Western seniors

Tulare Western seniors Mia Johnson and Kimberly Barela said they plan to stay cool by using their Hyroflasks.

"They stay cold all day like the water lasts all day," Johnson said.

"I still have ice from this morning," Barela said.

Elsewhere in the South Valley, Exeter Union High School has added even more water bottle filling stations on campus, after installing two last year.

"Huge amount of use. There's a little meter that says we saved 60,000 water bottles," said principal Robert Mayo. "We decided to go ahead and how can we expand that. We found a grant. We were able to go ahead and install eleven more on campus."

Mayo says the water is cold, clean, and filtered.

If they need to, students can cool off in the library or cafeteria. And like Tulare, Mayo says his staff knows what to watch for when it comes to heat illness.