system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why shouldn't you extinguish a beach bonfire by burying the fire with sand?
gpt
In terms of intrinsic properties, sand has a decently high heat capacity and a rather low thermal conductivity. The former property means that sand can absorb a large amount of thermal energy and the latter means that hot buried sand can retain this energy for a prolonged period. In practical terms, this means that even an extended time after a fire is covered there will be hot sand hidden beneath the surface such that if someone unwittingly steps into it he may sustain serious burns.