Freedom 250 cites safety, plans to reopen at 5 p.m.
Freedom 250 said in a social media post that conditions were expected to improve later in the afternoon and that the shutdown was temporary. “The safety and well-being of our guests, volunteers, performers, vendors, and staff is our highest priority,” the statement read. A follow-up post confirmed the gates would reopen at 5 p.m.
The temperature in Washington, D.C., reached 100 degrees at 2 p.m., according to the statement. The heat index — a measure of how hot it feels when humidity is factored in — reached 111.
Friday’s closure is the latest weather-related disruption for the fair, which opened on the National Mall on June 24 as a centerpiece of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. The event had already drawn sparse crowds in its opening days compared to earlier projections.
The closure also follows a broader pattern of dangerous heat across the region. On Thursday, authorities in Berks County, Pennsylvania, declared a mass casualty incident after more than 100 people waiting to see the Big Boy steam locomotive were treated for heat-related symptoms as temperatures reached 106 degrees. The National Weather Service has placed tens of millions of people under heat warnings across the central and eastern United States as the July 4 holiday weekend began.