BALTIMORE COUNTY — Smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed Baltimore County skies, prompting a Code Purple air quality alert for most of Maryland and leading Baltimore County Recreation and Parks to cancel outdoor events and close some swimming areas.
Acting Director Bryan Sheppard said the decision came down to air quality readings.
"It really boiled down to what the air quality rating was. It was in the unhealthy range this morning and for most of the day, it's still in the unhealthy range," Sheppard said.
Several parks were largely empty as a result. Double Rock Park was a ghost town, and the usually busy Honeygo Run Regional Park in Perry Hall was also barren. A group was holding a work party, but the walking trail was empty and the playground was barely used.
Sheppard said parks and bathrooms remained open, even as programming was suspended.
"We've got sites all the way up in North County and all the way down to Edgemere, Spars Point, Dundalk, and Catonsville. So, the parks are open, the bathrooms are open. The difference is really for the programming we're offering, we have a high expectation level of what we want to provide and we want to be safe with it. So people can still go at their own," Sheppard said.
We spoke with David Gutierrez, who was walking his dog while wearing a mask.
"I have a Google Nest at home. We have a little quality monitor on it and it's in the red I've been seeing a lot of stuff on the news and forums," Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said his dog requires frequent outdoor activity, but acknowledged the conditions made today a difficult exception.
"She needs a lot of activity and I try to get her out as much as possible, but today is really not the day," Gutierrez said.
Air quality issues are expected to continue through the weekend. Baltimore County Recreation and Parks plans to make decisions about events on a day-of basis.
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