The Washington Wild Things’ Frontier League baseball game against the New Jersey Jackals was postponed Wednesday because of poor air quality at New Jersey’s Hinchliffe Stadium.
The stadium is owned by the Paterson’s school system, which has declared a ban on outdoor activities Wednesday because of air quality issues and warnings across most of the eastern seaboard caused by wildfires in Canada.
The game is scheduled to be made up Thursday as part of a doubleheader, starting at 4:35 p.m.
Hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada continue to create hazardous air quality issues across the New York City and Tri-State area.
The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for New York City and Tri-State areas until midnight Wednesday, warning of patchy smoke and haze.
The Wild Things are scheduled to travel to Quebec, Canada, for a three-game series starting Friday. No decisions have been made regarding that series.
The Wild Things and Jackals game was not the only one impacted by the wildfires and air quality issues.
Smoke hung over Yankees Stadium during Tuesday night’s game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.
According to the Athletic, Major League Baseball is monitoring the situation and consulting with medical and weather experts about Wednesday’s game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Update: MLB is keeping an eye on air quality levels in NYC, and consulting w/ medical and weather experts, in addition to both the Yankees and White Sox medical staffs. Air quality in the BX now is at 168, or "unhealthy," per EPA. https://t.co/aCta4Dtuf8
— Brendan Kuty ????♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) June 7, 2023
Right now. Not ideal. https://t.co/acLyRGslsA pic.twitter.com/6HVqqm0pnR
— Brendan Kuty ????♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) June 7, 2023
Those aren’t clouds. That’s smoke. pic.twitter.com/GqnZry9Kc8
— Brendan Kuty ????♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) June 6, 2023
The Athletic reported the air quality reached 180 during the fifth inning and 227 by 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, good air quality index is between 0-50 and moderate is 51-100.
Air quality issues also forced the postponement of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs game at the Syracuse Mets on Tuesday night. And, the Yankees’ Triple-A team, the Scranton RailRiders, had their game postponed against the Norfolk Tides on Tuesday night out of “an abundance of caution for potential health concerns,” according to the RailRiders.
