Events resume as air quality improves slightly in Waukesha County
WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- There was still a slight haze visible in Waukesha County Wednesday afternoon, but at Wisconsin Brewing Company Park, the Lake Country Dockhounds had a doubleheader with the Chicago Dogs to make up for Tuesday's cancelled game.
County officials say people at risk should still be cautious of time spent outside, however.
"Yesterday when we were here, you know, you could visibly see that it was a struggle to see the outfield wall, it was a struggle to see the scoreboard," said Lake Country Dockhounds Communications Manager Bryan Giese.
He says that's why they decided to make the call to not play Tuesday.
Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow says he's spent pretty much his whole life here and he's never seen anything like this.
"Now when you think about this air quality challenge that we're in right now, this is the first time we've ever seen it," said Farrow.
He says they're working closely with the Department of Natural Resources to monitor the situation.
"We're starting to see more wind come up, which is helpful, but our big thing we're telling people...if you have preexisting conditions, if you've got heart conditions, lung conditions, asthma, those kinds of things, stay inside still," said Farrow.
Farrow says right now, they haven't seen an uptick in calls for medical help in the county, but he says they will be letting people know if the DNR says things will get worse.
For the Dockhounds, that means the game is back on.
"The decision today was basically 200 or less, so if we were at 200 as far as the air quality score, if we were under that, we were going to keep playing, and so we're scheduled as of now for having a doubleheader," said Giese.
When it came time to make that call, the air quality index was around 193.
"It's the first time I've been at a baseball field where I actually wanted a score under 200," laughed Giese.
Tuesday, Waukesha County had the worst of the smoke in southeast Wisconsin.