Smoky skies could delay high school sports contests

Smoke from a wildfire in Butte County might affect sports contests scheduled to take place Friday in Sonoma County and other Northern California areas.

Rancho Cotate High School football coach Gehrig Hotaling said Thursday that he canceled his team's practice, and that the team's playoff game Friday night could be in jeopardy of being postponed. The CIF-North Coast Section Division 2 football quarterfinal between No. 1 seed Rancho Cotate and No. 10 American Canyon is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Rancho Cotate campus in Rohnert Park.

The poor air quality is coming from heavy smoke from the Camp fire, which was burning more than 100 miles northeast of Sonoma County.

'We were forced to cancel practice today because of the smoke and bad air quality,' Hotaling said. 'I have been on the phone for hours today trying to get information. The NCS will contact us sometime on Friday about it.'

Hotaling said he was not given a time by the NCS when a decision would be made or when he would be notified.

Other football playoff games in the area might also be in jeopardy of being postponed due to poor air quality. Other prep and college sports contests could be affected, including the North Bay League cross country championship at Spring Lake Friday afternoon.