This photo shot from the Firefighters Memorial Bridge faces south were the former Pittston Hospital, which normally visible is completely out of sight from the smoke from the Canadian fires.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
The hazardous smoky air from the Canadian fires didn’t stop these two people from fishing the Susquehanna River at Pittston on Wednesday afternoon.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Even though it was advised to stay inside, these two Pittston residents wearing masks were coming from the basketball court on Wednesday.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
This unedited photo shows downtown Pittston devoid of shoppers on Wedesday, June 7. Many stores closed early or for the entire day due to the lack of street activity.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Shown are two photos to compare at The Landmark building, Pittston looking south on Wednesday, June 7. The top photo was shot January 2022, while the bottom photo was at 3 p.m. Wednesday when the hazardous air index was at its peak in for the day.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON — People of Greater Pittston and beyond were in disbelief when the forest fires from Canada crossed the border infiltrating as far south as the Carolinas.
Downtown Pittston was a virtual ghost town with little to no outdoor activity seeing many businesses shutting down for half the day or not opening at all on Wednesday. Thursday’s was not better for Greater Pittstonians, but Friday saw some clearing and the air index improving.
Thursday afternoon saw the Air Quality Index (AQI) peaking over 400 in the hazardous area and the Dept. of Environmental Protection advised everyone to stay inside avoiding all outdoor physical activity.
However, Pittston City officials felt it wasn’t worth the risk by holding the Second Friday Art Walk postponing it until this coming Friday, June 16 beginning at 5 p.m.
The grand opening of The Hive salon collective, located at The Landmark building’s main floor, was also postponed until June 16 to coincide with the Art Walk.
Rob Bresnahan, owner of The Landmark building, allowed the Times Leader to shoot photos of the surrounding landscape atop of the four-story building.
“The conditions over those past few days served as a reminder how fortunate we are to live in an area where air quality is traditionally not an issue,” Bresnahan said. “The feelings felt very eerily similar to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Wyoming Area Superintendent Dr. Jon Pollard said the high school class of 2023 graduation would go on as planned outdoors on Friday. It wasn’t the Canadian fire smoke that concerned officials but rather the threat of rain and scattered showers in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The rest of this weekend’s activities were to go on as scheduled including a Corvette Car Show at the site of Agolino’s Restaurant at the corner of Wyoming and Luzerne Avenues from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. today.
