An Orange Level Air Quality Warning remains in effect for Chatham-Kent due to wildfire smoke, prompting the municipality to suspend several services Thursday, while Walpole Island First Nation has cancelled garbage collection and opened cooling stations for community members.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent said all municipal waste depots — including the Wallaceburg Waste Depot, Harwich Waste Depot and Chatham Leaf and Yard Depot — will be closed Thursday, and all outdoor pools will remain closed for the day. Blenheim and Wallaceburg indoor pools will stay open on their regular schedules, and splash pads will remain open, though Chatham-Kent Public Health is recommending families “exercise caution, monitor air quality conditions, and limit outdoor exposure where possible.”
Municipally-operated day camps, including CK Recreation and CK Arts & Culture day camps, will continue to run, with programming adjusted to keep children indoors throughout the day. The EarlyON outdoor event in Ridgetown has been cancelled, with all registered participants notified, though indoor EarlyON programming will continue as scheduled.
The municipality said it “will continue to monitor conditions and make service adjustments as necessary to protect the health and safety of residents and staff,” and encouraged residents to follow the CK Notices and Closures Facebook page for updates on service impacts and closures.
On Walpole Island, the First Nation said there will be no garbage collection Thursday due to the smoke. The Arena is open as a 24/7 cooling and clean air station, and the Governance Building is also serving as a cooling and clean air station during business hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Snacks and food will “soon be available at both locations,” and N95 masks are available for pick-up at the Governance Building.
Community members were asked to keep house windows and doors closed and limit time outdoors, and to “safely check on your loved ones, especially Elders, people with disabilities, and anyone with respiratory conditions.”
Anyone experiencing an emergency was told to call 911.
