Air Quality a Concern Ahead of Panthers Game

CHARLOTTE, NC — The threat of smoke from the wildfires was also hanging over Thursday night’s Panthers game against the New Orleans Saints, with fans in the tens of thousands descending on Uptown to tailgate and root on the cats. Air quality was also a concern.

“Keep a fire extinguisher with us any time we’re grilling out like that you know,” says Indian Trail resident Eric Miller. “So be safe.”

Wildfires in Western North Carolina are burning more than 46,000 acres. Mecklenburg County is in a drought, with a burn ban in place. But Charlotte Fire told us grilling is still okay, and that was welcome news for Panthers fan Eric Miller.

“I travel all over North Carolina and South Carolina for work, so it’s smoky pretty much every where I go,” says Miller. “You know you can see it when you’re standing back away from the city looking in. You can see the haze across the city. You know the fires are terrible. We need to get them things put out. We need some rain.”

“We live out in Matthews, man,” says Monroe resident Josh Strong. “And yesterday when I was at work, it was, man it had my chest hurting.”

Strong works on Monroe road in Matthews. He said the smoke snuck up on him.

“It had my chest hurting, my eyes water,” says Strong. “I had to put eye drops in three or four times. And then called my wife, she works over here off of Nations Ford Road, she had nothing.”

“I was up north the other day working, up towards that way,” says Albemarle resident Keith Phillips. “And I’m going to tell you, the closer the mountains you get it is, it’s smoky. But here, I think we’re fine.”

Jonathan Lowe’s uncle lives closer to the fires. And the health threat is all too real.

“He lives on Lake Hickory, and says that he’s been on oxygen,” says Lowe, who lives in South Charlotte. “Been very hard to breathe.”‘

The air quality in Charlotte may be better. But Lowe is glad authorities are taking precautions anyway.

“At school today, they couldn’t have recess outside,” says Lowe. “They made that announcement when I picked up my son.”

As for the game…
David Palma flew in from South Florida to celebrate his birthday by watching the Panthers play. He didn’t even know about the wildfires.

“A win,” says Palma, a 2009 Queens University graduate. “We need a win. Doesn’t look like the playoffs are in our picture anymore, but I don’t know. You never know.”