Smoke from Canadian wildfires temporarily closes Newburgh aquatic center
Smoke from Canadian wildfires shut Delano-Hitch Aquatic Center, briefly cutting off Newburgh's summer cooling spot at 401 Washington Street.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires forced the Delano-Hitch Aquatic Center at 401 Washington Street to close Friday, July 16, leaving Newburgh families without one of the city’s main places to beat the heat. The City of Newburgh said the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation had rated Orange County “Unhealthy” as smoke pushed the air quality index into a range that made outdoor time a poor bet.
The shutdown mattered because Delano-Hitch is more than a pool. The city describes the $15 million facility, completed at no direct cost to local taxpayers, as a community center with a youth splash pad and a full-size accessible swimming area inside Delano-Hitch Recreation Park, the 27-acre site donated to the city by Annie Delano-Hitch, the aunt of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1916. In the middle of summer, that makes the aquatic center a low-cost cooling option for children, parents and older residents trying to stay active without staying outside too long.
Newburgh also moved other programming out of the smoke. The city postponed a summer movie screening scheduled for July 16 as air-quality concerns spread across the Hudson Valley, a sign that the wildfire smoke affected more than one city event.
For residents who still needed relief, the city’s Activity Center at 401 Washington Street remained the clearest indoor option. City materials describe it as an air-conditioned space in Delano-Hitch Recreation Park that can serve individuals and families looking to get out of the heat while outdoor conditions remained poor.
The closure did not last long. The city later said the Delano-Hitch Aquatic Center would reopen Sunday, July 19, at 8 a.m., and resume its regular operating schedule after the weather and air-quality shutdown. For Newburgh, the brief closure showed how quickly smoke from hundreds of miles away can reach a city recreation site and change the summer routine for kids, swimmers and everyone looking for a safer place to cool down.
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