Blast shield apparatus and method

A blast shield method comprising:

• placing a blast shield apparatus on top of an explosive device, the blast shield apparatus including a blast resistant blanket having a blanket edge and a blanket center region, a plurality of blanket magnets disposed near the blanket edge and distributed along the blanket edge, and a chamber having a first side facing the blast resistant blanket and coupled to the blanket center region of the blast resistant blanket, and a second side opposite from the first side and facing away from the blast resistant blanket and toward the explosive device, the second side disposed on top of the explosive device;
• filling the chamber with a gas;
• and
• detonating the explosive device.

A blast shield apparatus comprising:

• a blast resistant blanket having a blanket edge and a blanket center region;
• a plurality of blanket magnets disposed near the blanket edge and distributed along the blanket edge;
• a chamber having a first side facing the blast resistant blanket and coupled to the blanket center region of the blast resistant blanket, and a second side opposite from the first side and facing away from the blast resistant blanket, the chamber including a chamber interior to store a gas;
• and
• means for, after an explosion causes a bubble created by an expansion of the gas in the chamber to collapse and the blast resistant blanket to rise in the blanket center region relative to the blanket edge, to close the blast resistant blanket at the blanket edge to encapsulate explosion debris and byproducts of the explosion.