Bad Air Day Forces Closures

The City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department made several changes to programming due to unhealthy air quality conditions.

For Wednesday, June 7, the Warwick Pool and Old Town Pool were closed;.Sports fields were closed for the day. All outdoor activities with RPCA and other sports partners were canceled for the afternoon and evening.

For more information on specific program and facility closures, visit our Cancelations and Closures web page at alexandriava.gov/rpca/rpca-program-activity-service-cancellations. Cancellation and Closure Hotlines: Classes and Camps: 703.746.5594; Sports Leagues: Coed & Women: 703.746.5595; Men: 703.746.5596; Youth: 703.746.5597

RPCA had not yet decided on possible cancellations for Thursday, June 8, although Code Red unhealthy air quality was predicted due to smoke from Canadian forest fires.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments issued a code red air quality alert for the region for Wednesday, June 7, and Thursday, June 8, due to smoke from wildfires in Canada. This forecast means air quality is expected to be unhealthy for all individuals.

Here are recommendations on limiting outdoor activity during these bad air days:

People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens – take any of these steps to reduce exposure: Avoid strenuous outdoor activities. Keep outdoor activities short. Consider moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them.

Everyone else – take any of these steps to reduce your exposure: Choose less strenuous activities (like walking instead of running) so you don’t breathe as hard. Shorten the amount of time you are active outdoors. Be active outdoors when air quality is better.

Visit Airnow.gov for guidelines on how to limit exposure to pollutants during code-red air quality days.

Teens Wounded in Double Shooting

On Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at approximately 8:20 p.m., the Alexandria Police Department responded to a shooting incident in the 5400 block of Richenbacher Avenue. A 17-year-old male and a 16-year-old male both sustained non-life-threatening gunshot injuries to their lower bodies.

The Alexandria Police Department urges anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or possesses any relevant information to come forward and help in the ongoing investigation.

If anyone has information related to this case, please contact Detective Jason Marable via phone at 703.746.6883, email at Jason.Marable@Alexandriava.gov, or call our non-emergency line at 703.746.4444. Tips can be anonymous.