Smoke prompts practice changes

RITZVILLE – The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague football team may be practicing indoors all week, thanks to smoky conditions caused by two nearby wildfires.

The Winona Fire is burning east of Ritzville near the Adams-Whitman County line near the small town of Winona, north of LaCrosse. And to the northeast, the Gray Fire is burning along Interstate 90 near Tyler.

Both fires ignited Friday, blanketing much of the region, including Adams County in thick smoke.

The Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency on Saturday recommended cancelations of outdoor activities around the northeast quarter of the state.

“There have been several practice time changes for high school football and volleyball,” Athletic Director Dustan Arlt said in an email Sunday, Aug. 20. “There are also some practice options later in the week, depending on the air quality and if the football team needs to be inside or can go outside.

“I would guess football will be indoors the first couple of days and possibly all week depending if the smoke improves or not.”

The declining air quality has also impacted the upcoming Bronco Jamboree.

“We had eight teams for the jamboree Saturday and I had a schedule ready,” Arlt said. “We are down to five right now due to a couple teams having low turnouts and a school unable to have enough practices due to the fires.

“I will update later in the week on the jamboree.”

The jamboree is set to begin at 1 p.m. on Jimmie Snider Field on East Ninth Avenue.

To add to the football confusion, Davenport, usually a Northeast 2B league rival, doesn’t have enough players to field a full 11-man team this season.

So, the Davenport School Board decided Monday night to compete in 8-man football independently from any league.

Some other Class 2B schools – like Bridgeport and Liberty Bell – previously moved down to 8-man football due to fewer athletes turning out.

High school parents and athletes should take note of the possible practice changes later this week.

• Wednesday – If air quality remains poor, all teams will practice inside Gilson Gymnasium, with girls volleyball at 1:30 p.m., cross country at 3:30 p.m. and boys football at 3:45 p.m. If the air clears, volleyball will be at 3:30 p.m. in the gym and football will be at 3:45 on the field. No cheerleading practice is planned.

• Thursday – If air quality remains poor, all teams will be in the gym, with volleyball at 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., cross country at 3:30 p.m. and football at 5:15 p.m. Cheerleading is set for 3:30 p.m. If the air clears, volleyball will be at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. in the gym, and football will be at the same time on the field. Cross country and cheer will both start at 3:30 p.m.

• Friday – Volleyball, cross country and cheerleading will be at 3:30 p.m. If the weather is smoky, football will be at 1 p.m. in the gym. If it clears, football will be at 3:30 p.m. on the field; a second practice may be added.