Smoke from wildfires in Canada is ravaging Cleveland, postponing a Guardians game and prompting locals to balance outdoor plans with health warnings.
CLEVELAND — Air quality was unhealthy enough to postpone the Guardians game Friday night, but not enough to stop hundreds of fans from heading to downtown Cleveland.
Smoke from Canada’s wildfires blanketed the city for the second day in a row, turning the sky orange and raising the air quality index to levels considered very unhealthy. The Guardians and Pirates will try again on Saturday, splitting a doubleheader.
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Guardians postpone tonight’s game against Pirates due to air quality issues; moved to a split doubleheader on Saturday
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The postponement left fans who had planned to play nine innings scrambling for something else to do. Many found themselves in the Gateway neighborhood, where bars on East Fourth Street were packed Friday night.
The contrast between the smoky air and the downtown crowds underscored the challenge facing Cleveland heading into the weekend: Officials are urging people to limit their time outdoors while many residents are trying to salvage plans made before the smoke arrived.
“The best advice at any time is to stay home,” said Dr. David Margolius, Cleveland’s director of public health. “But it has to be inside, and a place with filtration and air conditioning is the safest place for people to be at the moment.”
Masks were a common sight in downtown Cleveland on Friday. Colleen, an employee at Progressive Field, said visibility quickly deteriorated as smoke appeared.
“And then about ten minutes before I finished, you couldn’t even see the other side of the stadium,” she said.
Luke Hansen, a Guardians fan from Cleveland, said he had planned to spend the evening at the stadium but now hopes to spend the rest of the weekend indoors.
“There are great bars here. Cleveland is amazing. We’ll see what happens there,” Hansen said.
Some fans were more upset by the postponement than the smoky weather.
Carl Latimer came from Pittsburgh to watch his team play. Pittsburgh also suffered from wildfire smoke.
“At noon the air looked like this. Why didn’t they cancel the game at noon? Latimer said.
He later joked about the source of the haze.
“Are there trees in Canada?”
Jeff Burton came from Utah with an authored book that described his desire to see a major league baseball game in every stadium and buy a hot dog.
“So it’s (called) ‘Enjoy the Moment,’” Burton said.
He’ll have to wait for his baseball experience in Cleveland. The Guardians game and hot dog were postponed, and Burton hoped the smoke wouldn’t return until the next day of baseball.
“Fingers crossed. Enjoy the moment. Let’s go,” he said.
But air quality had more serious consequences.
The Cleveland Clinic said its urgent care centers and emergency departments were seeing a slight increase in respiratory complications after the smoke spread into the region.
Health officials recommend people limit their time outdoors and stay home with windows closed when air quality is poor.
“We encourage people to get inside, get into a place where all the windows can be closed,” Margolius said.
The Pirates and Guardians will play a split doubleheader starting Saturday at 1:10 p.m.