Wildfires may mean Washington State would have to move season-opener

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer

Washington State may be scrambling to find alternatives for its first game of the season because of wildfires in eastern Washington.

The record-setting wildfires have burned 200 homes as the area has not received its normal amount of rainfall. And the smoke from the fires have made the air quality unhealthy. If the air quality continues to be poor as the Cougars' game against Portland State on September 5 approaches, Washington State could be forced to move or postpone the game.

"We're watching it really close," Washington State athletic director Bill Moos told the Spokesman Review. "Of course we are concerned about the health and safety of our student athletes and our fans, as well as coaches and staff. I'm hoping we will get some relief with some rain. We're testing it every day."

One practice has been moved inside already because of the wildfires. An Air Quality Index score of 150 or higher is considered dangerous, but the threshold could be 100 for the game to go on because of fans with possible respiratory issues and children. Though the paper notes that the AQI in Pullman, Washington was currently below 100.

The Spokesman Review cited sources that said WSU has looked at possibly having the game at Idaho's Kibbie Dome. The Kibbie Dome has a much less capacity than Washington State's stadium, so any move there would likely be as a last resort given the ticket scrambling that would have to occur. Moos also didn't rule out moving the date of the game.

"The Kibbie Dome would not be the only option in my mind, there are other options where maybe we could go," Moos said. "We want to play the game. Another option is, can we reschedule it? That's happened before when you look back September 11th, and those things, people had to get creative with their schedules.

Washington State went 3-9 overall in 2014 and 2-7 in the Pac-12.

For more Washington State news, visit WazzuWatch.com.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!