Bay Area high school sports events impacted by wildfire smoke
The three massive fires in far northern California near the Oregon border that are sending unhealthy air down into the Bay Area have impacted several high school sports events on Wednesday.
Two cross country meets were cancelled on Wednesday afternoon. The West Catholic Athletic League canceled a league-wide cross country race at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The Peninsula Athletic League cancelled a cross country race which was scheduled to be held at Half Moon Bay high school, according to San Mateo high school.
The decision has been made to cancel today's WCAL I Center Meet at Golden Gate Park due to poor air quality.
— WCALSports (@WCALSports) September 20, 2023
Other WCAL schools have said they are canceling or postponing several events, including Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco, Archbishop Mitty in San Jose.
Update on today’s Monarch athletic contests. pic.twitter.com/KhoKSr7ehY
— AMHS Athletics (@AMHSAthletics) September 20, 2023
Due to the unhealthy air quality, today's cross country meets will not proceed as scheduled. pic.twitter.com/wlp3dQEGG2
— Seamus (@SHCathletics) September 20, 2023
Additionally, Menlo School in Atherton announced that all competitions were postponed and may not practice, either.
Menlo Athletics UPDATE
All Upper School and Middle School athletic competitions have been postponed due to expected continued poor air quality. Practices will be modified depending on conditions at 3p @menloschool @wbal_ccs @WCALSports— MenloSchoolAthletics (@MenloKnights) September 20, 2023
Menlo was one of four schools scheduled to play girls flag football in an afternoon jamboree at their Atherton neighbors Sacred Heart Prep. The status for the jamboree on the whole is unclear as of now.
Beyond that event, several other events scheduled for Wednesday appeared to be proceeding as scheduled. San Mateo High School sent tweets promoting water polo matches and a girls flag football contest later Wednesday evening.
About 20,000 acres of wildland in southern Oregon and Northern California continued to burn Wednesday, which is causing the haze above the Bay Area to become thicker and the color of the sky more brown.
By mid-morning, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District had replaced an advisory with a Spare the Air alert that will last at least through Thursday, because air-quality index numbers rose to levels that in some places were unhealthy for the healthiest humans.
By noon Wednesday, the district’s Air Quality Index figures, which measure fine particulate matter in the air, showed figures between 101-150 for nearly the entire region, meaning the air is unhealthy for young children, seniors and those with breathing issues. The lone exception was in the North Bay, which showed figures between 51-100, meaning the air is moderately healthy.
The smoke was especially heavy in the South Bay and along San Francisco and the Peninsula, with figures on PurpleAir, a real-time air quality measuring company, rising as high as 167. Anything between 151-200 is unhealthy for everyone, and it’s likely some effect will be felt within 24 hours.
This story will continue to be updated.