EASTON, Pa. — On the morning of June 8, Pastor Matt Mardis-LeCroy huddled up with organizers of the College Hill Strawberry Festival.
- The Lehigh Valley could see more smoke from Canadian wildfires throughout the summer
- There is no continuity from local leaders on thresholds for safety
- Upcoming outdoor events, like Musikfest and The Great Allentown Fair, could be impacted
Wildfire smoke from Canada was forecast to move into the Lehigh Valley, crushing plans to hold the almost 100-year-old event outside.
“The Strawberry Festival starts at something like 5 o'clock and [we] talked it through,” said Mardis-LeCroy, of College Hill Presbyterian Church. “And if we were to move it inside, what would that entail? And could we pull it off?
“We made a difficult decision to prioritize health and safety, and so we moved the event inside with eight hours to figure it out.”
Moving the festival indoors proved a good decision, as several outdoor organizations followed suit, closing or modifying activities as a sepia-toned haze spread across the region, choking residents and giving the Valley some of the worst air quality in the nation.
With the strong possibility of more smoke this summer, residents and event organizers are looking to the region’s leaders for guidance — but there’s no continuity or clear thresholds being imposed.
While there was still “a lot of stress” over moving the festival indoors, it also reminded Mardis-LeCroy of COVID-19, he said.
“From my point of view, we have very clear guidance from the local government with COVID — to the point where people could get irritated about it. It was clear what we were being asked. And with wildfire smoke, it feels like everybody is figuring this out on their own."Pastor Matt Mardis-LeCroy
“From my point of view, we have very clear guidance from the local government with COVID — to the point where people could get irritated about it. It was clear what we were being asked,” he said. “And with wildfire smoke, it feels like everybody is figuring this out on their own.”
‘We do not have air quality standards (but probably should)’
Wildfire smoke in high concentrations is a new environmental threat to Pennsylvania. Experts have pointed to climate change as the catalyst, and urged residents to pivot to building up resilience, as extreme weather events could become more common.
LehighValleyNews.com reached out to emergency management officials in both Lehigh and Northampton counties, seeking any thresholds or rules for outdoor activities during instances of wildfire smoke, whether new or already-established limits for air quality. There was no response.
At the city level, officials in Allentown, Easton and Bethlehem have different approaches to deal with the threat of smoke.
Kristen Wenrich, Bethlehem’s health director, said in an email city officials are in the process of finalizing recommendations for poor air quality days, adding she expected they would be complete in the next week or so.
Asked if there are any details she can share, or comment about why the city is deciding to create recommendations now, Wenrich said, “Unfortunately, not at this point. I don’t want to release anything until the recommendations are approved internally.”
Allentown spokesperson Genesis Ortega said the city uses federal and state guidelines that coincide with the Air Quality Index to make decisions about outdoor activities.
“We do not have air quality standards for festivals (but probably should)” Easton Mayor Sal Panto said in an email.
‘Public health and air quality agencies should provide advice’
The smoke that inundated the Valley in early June could come back throughout the summer – the region just saw some in the past week, but at a lower concentration. Plumes of smoke could continue to drift across the region as wildfires continue to burn across Canada.
As of Friday, there were 906 active fires across the country, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. More than 570 were deemed out of control.
And the country’s peak fire season hasn’t happened yet – that’s not until late July or early August – with wildfires common through October.
There are other states in the U.S. that have dealt with wildfire smoke more regularly, like California and Washington. In 2002, researchers at the University of Washington created “The Wildfire Smoke Guide for Public Health Officials.”
“In areas where the public is experiencing wildfire smoke, public health and air quality agencies should provide advice on strategies to limit exposure, which include staying indoors; limiting physical activity; reducing indoor air pollution sources; effectively using air conditioners and air filters or cleaners; creating cleaner air shelters; and using respiratory protection appropriately,” according to the guide, updated in 2019. “The most common advisory during a smoke episode is to stay indoors, where people can better control their environment.”
The guide also includes information on the health effects of smoke, what types of respirators protect residents against inhaling harmful particles and how officials can best communicate risks to residents.
One table, “Recommended actions for consideration by public health officials,” outlines Air Quality Index values and recommendations on how public officials can respond if smoke conditions become more severe.
For example, if the AQI becomes “very unhealthy,” one recommendation is to move all school activities indoors or reschedule them to another day.
‘We certainly will address it’
The Valley has several large-scale events, both indoors and outdoors, coming up that could be impacted by poor air quality due to smoke.
Organizers for Musikfest, an annual festival in its 40th year that includes outdoor stages across Bethlehem, did not respond to requests for comment.
The festival, which in recent years drew more than 1 million people to the city over the course of the 10-day event, has already sold out at least one headliner. Indie-pop trio AJR, which will headline Musikfest on opening night Aug. 3, as of Wednesday was showing no seats available on the festival's ticket buying site.
Beverly Gruber, chairperson and CEO of the Lehigh County Agricultural Society, said organizers for The Great Allentown Fair, slated for Aug. 30 to Sept. 4, are keeping an eye on directions from public officials.
“We do have inside facilities so people wouldn't be outside,” Gruber said. “We have air conditioning in the Ag Hall and we have air conditioning in the farmers market.”
Asked how visitors should keep an eye out for changes to the event due to the smoke, Gruber said to keep an eye on the fair’s website and social media pages.
“The news media in general covers it very well. So you know, they'll get their guidelines probably that way,” she said. “But we certainly will address it.”
‘People were incredibly gracious’
Even though it was supposed to be an outdoor event, when smoke forced the Strawberry Festival indoors, “people were really good about it,” Mardis-LeCroy said.
“People were incredibly gracious with one another,” he said. “I think the spirit was good.”
Since residents were advised against spending time outdoors due to the smoke, organizers tried to use that to their advantage.
“For me, personally, part of what was so hard about the wildfire smoke was the cabin fever – feeling just stuck in the house,” he said. “And so one of the things when we pivoted to an indoor event, we stressed in the advertising, ‘Here is a safe indoor activity to get you out of the house for a couple of hours.’
“Given the short turnaround time, I was very pleased with how people were able to pivot to indoors.”
