Smoke-filled skies don't keep fairgoers away from Waukesha County Fair
CBS 58 WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) — Hazardous air quality caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires is impacting southeast Wisconsin, but it is not keeping people away from the Waukesha County Fair.
Despite air quality alerts, fairgoers continued to attend the event, enjoying rides, food and activities while health officials urged people to limit their time outdoors.
The fair also has two air-conditioned buildings available for visitors to cool off and take breaks from the smoky conditions.
Brian Abild said the air quality concerns are unusual, but they are not stopping him from attending the fair.
“I would say the smoky fires are unprecedented as far as air quality, but whatever happens, we’ll be out here,” Abild said.
Some fairgoers said the conditions felt worse Thursday, when smoke appeared to hang low over the area.
“It was very thick yesterday. You could look out, and back there you could see the smoke kind of hanging low. It was crazy,” Olsen said.
Fairgoer Robert Bruders compared the conditions to standing near a fire.
“It’s like you’re in the middle of a bonfire, the hazy, the smoke, the heat,” Bruders said.
The smoky conditions also affected the fair’s concert schedule. Sebastian Bach, the former lead singer of Skid Row, was scheduled to perform Thursday night, but the show was canceled about an hour before it was set to begin.
The cancellation frustrated some fans who had already made plans to attend.
“They cancelled, and they were like, ‘I just drove an hour to be here. How did they cancel?’ They said it was going to go on, and it was just an abrupt boom, it’s done,” Olsen said.
Waukesha County Fair Executive Director Chrissy Gluege said organizers were initially told the concert would continue before receiving the final decision.
“Earlier in the afternoon we had the understanding that everything was a go, and that’s how we communicated because that’s what was communicated to us. Then from there, when we got the final call on where things landed, unfortunately that’s when we got it out,” Gluege said.
Bach later posted on social media that he did not want anyone to jeopardize their health and said he was looking into rescheduling the performance.
The Waukesha County Fair said Friday night's concerts are still expected to continue as planned.
