State of emergency forces Cricket ACT to cancel games

Cricket ACT chief executive James Allsopp says the decision was a simple one with territory officials warning weekend conditions could be the worst Canberra has seen since 2003.

The decision means all Douglas Cup games, senior grade matches and junior competitions will be cancelled on Saturday.

"With the threat of fire and the predictive map that has been released, we certainly don't feel comfortable with people, particularly from the south, having to go off and play cricket when they're leaving families and properties behind that could be under threat," Allsopp said.

"There'll be no local cricket [on Saturday] at all. We obviously want cricket to be played, our core business is delivering high-quality cricket for our community.

"But when you start comparing playing cricket to fire threatening properties around Canberra, it's a pretty easy decision which I'm sure people understand.

"We would certainly rather err on the side of being too cautious rather than not being cautious enough."

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

Allsopp is confident Cricket ACT has the appropriate measures in place for extreme heat and air quality given the circumstances of the past few months.

But this is a situation in which nobody wanted to roll the dice and ask players to turn up at grounds with fire threatening the region.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr made the announcement regarding the state of emergency about midday on Friday.

"I made this declaration of the state of emergency today to allow Canberrans, especially those in the south of Tuggeranong, time to prepare for the weekend," Barr said.

"I understand the anxiety this announcement will cause, especially for those who lived through the 2003 bushfires. This is the first time a state of emergency has been declared since that tragic event."

The Orroral Valley fire threatening the ACT and surrounds had grown to 18,500 hectares by noon Friday.