Air quality alert forces Dutch Wonderland to close

It’s 6:57. Time for WJAL News 8 to go. We do have live team coverage on this alert day. Let’s begin with Christine. Let’s take *** look at the sky in Harrisburg. You can’t see very far in front of you. Visibility is quite low due to the thick wildfire, smoke, and haze, and you can see it here in our sky cam. The river kind of disappears out in the distance. We are under *** code purple, *** very rare air quality alert for the entire state of Pennsylvania. That means the air quality. is harmful or very unhealthy for everybody. You could experience coughing, stinging, or itching eyes, breathing difficulties, especially if you have heart or lung conditions. So some recommendations keep your windows and doors closed at home. Keep your air on recirculate as you’re out on your morning drive in your car and at your home. If you have filters, you can run those as well. Current air quality readings right now, we have harmful that purple for the entire Susquehanna. Valley, but this one sticks out in your county, reading in at hazardous. That’s as bad as it gets. So please limit your time outdoors today and be cautious in the smoke. Right now temperatures are in the 60s to 70s. Dew points have dropped, but it’s not *** good day to be outdoors. Still going to be hot and hazy, blocking the sunshine throughout the day. Tonight we have 72 for the low, smoky and hazy. Tomorrow, scattered storms. We’ll talk more about those coming up. Good morning. I’m Gabrielle Thomas live here in Lancaster Lancaster City along East James Street. If you take *** look here, you can see how hazy the sky is. It’s looked like this all morning and across the Susquehanna Valley for sure. Doctors say that the message is very clear today. Please stay indoors. If you don’t have to be outside. Stay inside. Those that are most at risk though are people with chronic lung or heart diseases. Good morning, I’m Cameron Loy. We’re live at Samuel Lewis Park in York County. I want to give you *** look at what we’re seeing from our vantage point right now. You can see how this haze is just really making the visibility here *** lot more difficult, really making that distant, uh, picture *** lot more gray with this, uh, conditions that we’re seeing today. Obviously we want to reiterate, if you do plan on going outside, reconsider with these conditions still in effect, staying inside is one of the best ways to stay safe while this, uh, while this code purple is in effect. And as we saw with Cameron and with with Gabrielle, you can see it’s very hazy outside. Wanted to give you *** look from our penda cameras, other parts of the Susquenna Valley, East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Route 30 at Route 462 there, giving you *** look on Route 30 at Columbia Marietta. Can’t get over this shot. It is just absolutely so hazy there. Uh, be careful as you’re making your way out. More on those storms for Saturday on our impact day. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected. I think there may be *** round of morning showers, but sometimes this wildfire smoke inhibits storm production, so we might not see much tomorrow morning. I do expect the strongest storms though around dinner time to about midnight tomorrow as *** cold front approaches. So all threats of severe weather on the table. We’ll be with you throughout those storms and of course the air quality.

Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster County is closing on Friday due to harmful air quality.”Due to the statewide Air Quality Alert issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Dutch Wonderland will be closed today for the safety of our guests and hosts. Our team is closely monitoring conditions and will provide an update as air quality returns to safe levels for operation,” a post on the amusement park’s website said.A Code Purple air quality alert is in effect for all of Pennsylvania as thick wildfire smoke continues to spread across the region, creating harmful to hazardous conditions for residents.In the post, Dutch Wonderland said all tickets dated for Friday, July 17, will be valid on any one operating day throughout the season. If you need further assistance, please contact us at www.dutchwonderland.com/contact. Below: Swipe through the hour-by-hour smoke forecastWhat is Code Purple?A Code Purple air quality alert means the Air Quality Index has climbed above 200, indicating very unhealthy to harmful air quality. This is extremely rare for the Susquehanna Valley.At this level, wildfire smoke and pollution are dangerous for everyone, not just people with asthma, heart disease or other health conditions.Check your local air qualityResidents can check real-time air quality readings for their neighborhood by visiting AirNow.gov and entering a location or ZIP code. That will show the latest conditions in your immediate area.Right now, readings across the Susquehanna Valley are showing purple to maroon levels, which indicate very unhealthy, harmful, and even hazardous air quality — the worst categories on the scale.Below: Air quality data across south-central PA as of 5 a.m. on July 17, 2026Did you capture the haze and would like to share with News 8? Send us your photos or videos at https://www.wgal.com/upload.Drone video: Canadian wildfires leave hazy sky over Elizabethtown, PennsylvaniaCheck live conditions around the ValleyDrone video: Canadian wildfire smoke settles over the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg

LANCASTER, Pa. —

Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster County is closing on Friday due to harmful air quality.

“Due to the statewide Air Quality Alert issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Dutch Wonderland will be closed today for the safety of our guests and hosts. Our team is closely monitoring conditions and will provide an update as air quality returns to safe levels for operation,” a post on the amusement park’s website said.

A Code Purple air quality alert is in effect for all of Pennsylvania as thick wildfire smoke continues to spread across the region, creating harmful to hazardous conditions for residents.

In the post, Dutch Wonderland said all tickets dated for Friday, July 17, will be valid on any one operating day throughout the season. If you need further assistance, please contact us at www.dutchwonderland.com/contact.

Below: Swipe through the hour-by-hour smoke forecast

What is Code Purple?

A Code Purple air quality alert means the Air Quality Index has climbed above 200, indicating very unhealthy to harmful air quality. This is extremely rare for the Susquehanna Valley.

At this level, wildfire smoke and pollution are dangerous for everyone, not just people with asthma, heart disease or other health conditions.

Check your local air quality

Residents can check real-time air quality readings for their neighborhood by visiting AirNow.gov and entering a location or ZIP code. That will show the latest conditions in your immediate area.

Right now, readings across the Susquehanna Valley are showing purple to maroon levels, which indicate very unhealthy, harmful, and even hazardous air quality — the worst categories on the scale.

Below: Air quality data across south-central PA as of 5 a.m. on July 17, 2026

Did you capture the haze and would like to share with News 8? Send us your photos or videos at https://www.wgal.com/upload.

Drone video: Canadian wildfires leave hazy sky over Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

Check live conditions around the Valley

Drone video: Canadian wildfire smoke settles over the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg