After a very smoky first night, Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES organizers announced they were cancelling the remainder of the festival.

The Salmon Arm Folk Music Society (SAFMS) announced Saturday morning, Aug. 19, that a decision was made to cancel the event following communications with local fire officials and the RCMP.

鈥淎t every planning stage the SAFMS follows a safety first approach to ensure our patrons, volunteers and community health and safety is a priority,鈥� said the SAFMS. 鈥淲hile the City of Salmon Arm is not currently under an evacuation order, the communities to the North and South are facing evacuation alerts and orders鈥�

鈥淐anceling the 31st Annual ROOTSandBLUES was a difficult decision to make and one we did not take lightly.鈥�

The SAFMS said in coming weeks it would be in touch with ticket holders to provide more information. For the time being, while messages are being monitored the SAFMS said individual inquiries will not be answered.

The festival began Friday, but suffered a lengthy delay due to a power failure.

鈥淭hank you for your understanding,鈥� said the SAFMS.

Multiple evacuation orders and alerts remained in effect Saturday morning in areas of the North Shuswap, Electoral Area G (Sorrento), Turtle Valley and Chase.

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