Photo credit: Library of Congress / CC from 1.0
Canadian wildfires that have burned more than 9.8 million acres have cast an orange veil across much of the United States. Several events, including a performance by Chris Stapleton and a Hamilton show, have been postponed.
The New York City skyline looked orange, and city health officials were urging people to stay indoors. The National Weather Service doesn’t expect tomorrow to be any better. Around 128 million people in sixteen states are subject to air quality warnings. The smoke is heavy in major East Coast metropolitan areas, including Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC likely to remain unhealthy until Thursday.
“Due to the ongoing air conditions in the Syracuse area, tomorrow night’s show at St. Joseph’s Amphitheater is being rescheduled,” officials from Chris Stapleton’s All American Road Show said wrote on twitter. “All tickets already purchased for the original date will be taken over for the new date. We anticipate there will be an update by noon on June 9th.”
The Broadway musical “Hamilton” has also canceled its performance for this evening. “Hamilton’s performance today will not go as planned. “The unsafe air quality in New York City has made it impossible for some of our artists to perform tonight,” the tweet reads to announce the cancellation. “We apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to visit your point of sale for a refund or exchange.”
Some fans take it easy, accepting that the unsafe air quality isn’t worth putting the artist’s health at risk. “Well, I hope all shows follow suit,” writes one Broadway fan. “If only theaters had an air filtration system,” writes another criticizing the closures. Someone else posted a sepia screenshot of Judy Garland The Wizard of Ozwith the caption, “New Yorkers look up to the sky this week.”
The Governors Ball is scheduled for this weekend in Queens and officials say they are closely monitoring air quality reports. The Gov-Ball festival will continue for the time being.