Canadian wildfires that have burned more than 9.8 million acres have cast an orange haze across much of the United States. Several events, including a Chris Stapleton performance and a Hamilton show were postponed.
The skyline in New York City looked orange, with city health officials telling people to stay indoors. The National Weather Service does not expect things to look any better tomorrow. Around 128 million people are under air quality alerts, stretching across sixteen states. The smoke in major metro areas on the Eastern seaboard including Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. is expected to remain unhealthy through Thursday.
“Due to the ongoing air conditions in the greater Syracuse area, tomorrow night’s show at St Joseph’s Amphitheater will be rescheduled,” representatives for Chris Stapleton’s All American Road Show wrote on Twitter. “All previously purchased tickets for the original date will be honored for the new date. We expect to have an update by mid-day June 9.”
The Broadway musical ‘Hamilton’ also canceled its performance for the night. “Tonight’s performance of Hamilton will not go on as scheduled. The hazardous air quality in New York City has made it impossible for a number of our artists to perform this evening,” the tweet announcing the cancellation. “We apologize for the inconvenience an encourage you to visit your point of purchase for a refund or exchange.”
Some fans are taking things in stride, accepting that the hazardous air quality isn’t worth risking the performer’s health. “Good, I hope all shows follow suit,” writes one Broadway fan. “If only theaters had an air filtration system,” writes another, critical of the closures. Someone else posted a sepia-toned screenshot of Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz, captioning it ‘New Yorkers looking at the sky this week.’
The Governors Ball is slated for this weekend in Queens and officials say they’re closely monitoring air quality reports. For now, the Gov Ball festival will go on.