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Organizers of Rock the Park in London, Ont., say they’ve cancelled Thursday night’s event due to worsening air quality caused by wildfires in northern Ontario.
“Sadly, despite everyone’s best efforts, the smoke conditions have continued to worsen throughout the day,” organizers said in a Facebook post.
“After ongoing discussions with our artists, city officials, emergency services, and medical officials, we have made the difficult decision to cancel tonight’s show.”
The four-day music festival at Harris Park ended early Wednesday evening, cancelling the headlining performance by The Lumineers on its first day, after the City of London advised outdoor activities be cancelled because of deteriorating air quality.
Country artist Tucker Wetmore’s tour trailer sits outside the Rock the Park grounds hours before the second day of the festival got cancelled. (Alessio Donnini/CBC News)
Friends Lauren Hartman, Isla MacDougald and Kaley Squire said they were walking toward Harris Park when they learned about the cancellation.
“We heard about all the stuff that happened yesterday so when we heard it was good to go [today], we thought we didn’t have anything to worry about,” Hartman said after leaving the festival grounds. “When we got there, we saw a bunch of people walking away … and then people started telling us it’s cancelled.”
“For people’s health, I think it’s better, but it’s a big disappointment to a lot of people,” she said.
Tickets purchased for Thursday’s show will be refunded to customers, organizers said.
Kaley Squire, Isla MacDougald and Lauren Hartman head home after learning that Rock the Park’s country night is cancelled. (Kendra Seguin/CBC News)
“This was not the outcome any of us wanted. We explored every possible option to make the event happen safely, but the health and safety of our fans, artists, crew, volunteers, and staff must come first,” organizers added.
Environment Canada has placed most of Ontario under an orange air quality warning as smoke from wildfires grips the province and some U.S. states surrounding the Great Lakes.
Air quality health index readings across southwestern Ontario remained at 10+, or very high risk, as of early Thursday night, and the national weather agency expects the poor air quality to continue into the weekend.
Outdoor events cancelled and fire ban in place
The current conditions prompted the London Fire Department to suspend all open air burns in the city until air quality conditions improved.
Outdoor recreation facilities, programs, and sporting amenities will also remain closed until further notice, the City of London said in a news release on Thursday afternoon.
An outdoor movie night hosted by the South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre at White Oaks Park was cancelled, and the fire department’s Beat the Heat event, scheduled for Thursday night at East Lions Park, was postponed.
Community centres, however, will remain open to provide indoor relief for Londoners, the city said, adding that outreach teams will connect with people experiencing homelessness, to share information about cooling locations and available supports that can help reduce health risks.