Canadian wildfire smoke hangs over Hartford food truck festival as vendors and visitors push through

Canadian wildfire smoke hangs over Hartford food truck festival as vendors and visitors push through

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) - An air quality alert tied to Canadian wildfire smoke is affecting vendors and visitors at the Hartford Food Truck Festival at Riverfront Plaza, where the elevated location is making the haze more noticeable than at street level.

The festival, which runs through Sunday, features 30 vendors. Hundreds of people attended Thursday. Some wore masks to protect themselves from the smoke. Others said they limited their time outside before arriving to avoid coughing or irritation.

Deanna Henry of Rocky Hill said she and others have been managing their outdoor exposure.

“We’ve been trying to go outside a little bit, but not so much — not all day. I have seen people wearing masks and everything, so hopefully it clears up soon,” Henry said.

ConnectiCon is taking place next door at the convention center. Justin of New Britain said the indoor air was a welcome break.

“Being inside, it’s actually a relief because out here it’s harder to breathe. But when I get inside and sniff that nice Hartford Convention Center AC, it is amazing,” Justin said.

Frank Bernardo, owner of the New Haven Pizza Truck, said working in front of a pizza oven made the smoke conditions harder to manage — but he is not slowing down.

“It is hot and humid. The smoke doesn’t help, and you can feel it in the air, but I’ll get through it,” Bernardo said.

Bernardo also encouraged people to still come out to the festival.

“If you haven’t been, it’s an experience. There’s Comic-Con, there are people walking around, there are different types of food, great people — just a great place to come,” Bernardo said.

Quinnipiac University chemistry professor Robert Hansen said the smoke is traveling roughly 1,000 miles from Ontario, Canada, carried by wind patterns that are pushing particles into Connecticut.

“Wildfires in the West have been a thing, and we don’t get smoke from that because the air is so far away. Now the wildfires are getting closer, and the winds are just so that it brings in the particles from Ontario right down to Connecticut,” Hansen said.

Air quality is expected to improve over the course of the week. The festival continues through Sunday.

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