Poor air quality forces cancellation of some Bay Area soccer practices

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- In a rare move, a "Spare the Air" alert was issued late Thursday afternoon through Friday. The poor air quality was noticeable throughout the Bay Area for much of the day.[br /][br /]The murky skies due to smoke from wildfires burning on the West Coast.[br /][Ads /][br /][b]RELATED: [url HREF="https://abc7news.com/weather/east-bay-bathed-in-smoke-driven-smog/4010898/" TARGET="" REL=""]East Bay bathed in smoke-driven smog[/url] [/b][br /][br /]"It is sad, the fact that people live in this, have to breathe this air," said Mike Riegel who was visiting the Berkeley Marina from Granite Bay.[br /][br /]If you were outdoors at all, chances are you noticed the darkness - which had some thinking it was the fog.[br /][br /]"It doesn't seem that smoky," said Eric Gellerman of Berkeley. He was out walking the dogs with his kids after their soccer practice got cancelled.[br /][br /]"I'm a little disappointed, we were a little bit late for practice so we were really rushing and like 5 seconds before we got there, they just said, 'oh, it's canceled,'" said son Henry Gellerman.[br /][br /]Most of the games at the Tom Bates Regional Sports complex were called off due to the air quality but there were a few that decided to stick it out.[br /][br /][b]VIDEO: [url HREF="https://abc7news.com/weather/video-wildfire-smoke-turns-bay-area-skies-dark-murky/4041591/[br /]" TARGET="" REL=""]Wildfire smoke turns Bay Area skies dark, murky[/url][/b][br /][media ID="4041626" /][br /]Others enjoyed the breezy conditions.[br /][br /]"I don't really alter my daily routine because of the smoke, and I just continue to work," said Riegel.[br /][br /]But health officials advise people to stay indoors.[br /][br /]"Stay inside with windows or doors closed, avoid any outdoor activity, especially if you suffer from respiratory condition or are a child or an elderly person," said Sarah Zahedi, public information officer for the Air District.[br /][br /]So if you see or smell smoke, take the necessary steps to protect your health.[br /][br /][b]Get the latest weather updates [url HREF="https://abc7news.com/weather/" TARGET="" REL=""]here[/url] and recent stories and videos about the California wildfires [url HREF="http://abc7news.com/tag/wildfire/" TARGET="" REL=""]here[/url].[/b][br /][Ads /][br /][b][u]RELATED WILDFIRE STORIES & VIDEOS:[/u] [/b][br /][ul][br /][li][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/maps-wildfires-burning-across-california/3829366/" TARGET="" REL=""]MAPS: Wildfires burning across California[/url][/li][br /][li][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/weather/photos-from-the-wildfires-across-california/3849860/" TARGET="" REL=""]Photos from the wildfires across California[/url][/li][br /][li][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/california-wildfires-evacuation-orders-for-carr-complex-fires/3850118/" TARGET="" REL=""]The latest evacuation orders for Shasta County's Carr Fire, Mendocino County's Complex Fire[/url][/li][br /][li][url HREF="https://abc7news.com/weather/wildfire-smoke-how-it-can-impact-your-health/3983625/" TARGET="" REL=""]What's in wildfire smoke? 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