Poor air quality prompts officials to stop high school football game at halftime

Poor air quality Friday night prompted officials to stop the high school football game between San Joaquin Memorial and Hanford at halftime.

The National Weather Service in Hanford rated Friday’s air quality as “unhealthy” with an air quality index of 164. Good AQI readings register from 0 to-50. Moderate levels range from 51-100.

An unhealthy AQI is considered to potentially cause members of sensitive groups to experience serious health effects, and that some members of the general public could experience health effects, too.

In addition, reading levels of particulate matter Friday night also were considered high.

“The particulate matter was above the 75 threshold depending on which app or sensor,” Memorial athletic director Stephen Ferdinandi said. “Different trainers read it as high as in the 80s. One person saw it in the 90s.

“Unfortunately, we had to suspend the game.”

According to Kidsdata.org, air pollution is a serious threat to children’s health, with links to adverse birth outcomes, obesity, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and cancer.

Memorial (1-0), No. 4 in The Bee’s Central Section rankings, was leading 8-7 against No. 14 Hanford (0-0) when the game was called off.

The teams played the first half under a thick, gray cloud caused by smoke from raging wild fires in northern California that traveled south and blanketed much of the central San Joaquin Valley.

Among the fires burning is the Dixie Fire, which has been active since July 14 and torched 752,920 acres while currently at 47 % containment, according to Cal Fire.

When word started circulating that the highly anticipated game might be called off midway through, some fans in attendance began chanting “Let them play.”

But after further consideration, officials elected to postpone the remainder of the game.

It was not immediately known if or when the remainder of the game would resume, or if it’d be called off all together.

Memorial does have a bye week coming up on its schedule. Hanford’s bye week, however, already passed after the Bullpups did not play during Week 0.

But with the possibility of games by other teams getting canceled along the way due to the uncertainties with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Ferdinandi did not want to rule out the possibility that the second half between Memorial and Hanford could be completed at a later date.

“At this time, it’s suspended for now,” Ferdinandi said. “We’ll see where it goes.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 10:24 PM.