Air quality improves heading into new work week
Butler County residents were able to spot a blue sky on Sunday, July 19, for the first time in nearly a week, following several days of poor air quality as a result of wildfires in Canada and the northern United States. The improved air quality extended into Monday.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection issued a Code Orange Air Quality Alert for Butler County and other nearby counties on July 13, warning that the air was “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” However, as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, Airnow.gov reported that air quality is at yellow, or “moderate.”
It is a far cry from Thursday and Friday, when air quality in Butler County so low as a result of drifting wildfire smoke that authorities issued a rare Code Purple warning.
“It looks we’re going to have a bit of light smoke for the rest of the week,” said Liana Lupo, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
Air conditions are not expected to surpass Yellow for at least the next three days, according to forecasts from Airnow.gov.
Although air quality may be improving, those who are more sensitive to pollution should still exercise caution while outdoors during Code Orange days.
“If you're healthy, you have nothing really to fear,” Lupo said. “It’s children, elderly people, those suffering from asthma or any other lung diseases ... those are the types of people who need to take precautions and pay attention to how they feel when they're outside.”
Due to the improved air conditions, several gathering spots which were closed Thursday and/or Friday were able to reopen by Monday. These include the pool at Armco Park in Slippery Rock Township, Alameda Waterpark in Butler, which reopened Sunday, and Cranberry Community Waterpark.
Although Alameda Waterpark was closed between Thursday and Saturday, the remainder of Alameda Park remained open during this time, according to Lance Welliver, director of Butler County Parks and Recreation. However, a planned outdoor concert Thursday in the First Responders Pavilion was canceled due to the poor air conditions.
“We closed the water park, and then our moonlight swim was canceled. With the high levels we saw, we felt it was right to close (the water park) for a couple of days,” Welliver said. “The park itself stayed open, but we told patrons to exercise their own judgment.”
Likewise, Cranberry Township kept all of its other municipal parks open, including Cranberry Highlands Golf Course.
