SPOKANE, Wash. — Rogers High School’s football team played its home opener against Davis at One Spokane Stadium Thursday as air quality improved to moderate levels.
Many were concerned all sporting events would be canceled once again because of the extreme heat and air quality. Spokane Public Schools had canceled all outdoor sporting events Tuesday and Wednesday because of smoke and heat.
Both teams were able to play because the air quality reached a moderate level. Any higher, and they would have had to cancel.
The school district follows regional health district guidelines and continues to monitor air quality levels.
Despite the smoky conditions, Spokane residents and visitors continued their daily activities throughout the day.
“We bike around for our job. For a delivery job, it gets kind of hairy sometimes. And I looked at my phone and it said, pretty unhealthy for most groups this morning,” said Matt Legard, who lives in Spokane.
Others noticed the smoke’s impact during evening activities.
“Mostly at night when I’m down at riverfront playing basketball. When the sun setting. That’s when I noticed that the most,” said Martese Blankenship, who lives in Spokane.
Visitors to downtown Spokane made decisions about outdoor activities based on air quality concerns.
“We wanted to come and actually see downtown Spokane and see the river and everything. So kind of weighed the risk like. We’re like well we’re only here for another day. Well, we’ll take a day of damage to our lungs,” said Kaden Brown, who was visiting Spokane.
Some family members chose to limit their exposure to the smoky conditions.
“My grandpa and his wife, they didn’t want to come down today because of the smoke. And so they want to limit their exposure outside just because they’re worried about it on their lungs,” Brown said.
The health concerns were real for residents as well.
“This might potentially ruin my lungs, our breathing,” Blankenship said.
The visitors center at Riverfront Park noticed significantly fewer people stopped by when the smoke conditions were especially bad.
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