LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — As Canadian wildfire smoke drifted into Kentucky, pushing the air quality index into unhealthy levels, people sensitive to air pollution were warned to stay inside. Those who felt comfortable in the smoky air saw quite a sight.
"Driving into work this morning, I'm like 'What is this?'," said Ben Roscoe, a youth baseball coach. "I didn't think it would affect Lexington at all, because you think Canada and Lexington aren't that close,"
It was enough to make your eyes a little irritated, but as long as no one had any underlying conditions, it wasn't anything that would keep his nine-and-under baseball players off the diamond for a scrimmage Wednesday evening.
"We checked to make sure no one had asthma or any underlying conditions. They're all having a blast," Roscoe said.
Still, though, it's creating some unusual challenges.
"It's been interesting for the kids trying to catch fly balls, too. They're going, 'Wait, it's getting caught in the clouds almost, is what it feels like," he said.
One thing Roscoe loves about coaching is helping the kids grow and push past hurdles.
"They overcome some interesting conditions with rain, wind, especially the heat during the summer," he said. "We had one spring practice where it was so cold the kids had to run to the car for a little to warm back up and then come back out,"
So, a smoky scrimmage between the Slam and Turkeyfoot teams will be one more experience these young players remember.
"You just kind of deal with it. They're more resilient than we are. Honestly, we're the bigger babies," Roscoe said.
