Wildfire Smoke Puts Millions in Midwest, Northeast at Risk

NEW YORK — Thick smoke from major wildfires burning in Canada and Minnesota is forecast to spread across broad areas of the Midwest and Northeast this week, putting millions of Americans at risk of breathing unhealthy air.

In Minnesota, officials issued an air quality alert from Tuesday through Friday for several areas, including the Twin Cities metro, Alexandria and Two Harbors. As large fires continue to expand, very heavy smoke is expected in the state’s northeastern corner. Air quality in Two Harbors, the Tribal Nation of Grand Portage and other parts of northeast Minnesota was projected to reach hazardous levels, a category considered unsafe for everyone.

Dan Westervelt, an associate professor at Columbia University’s Climate School, said extreme drought paired with heat in Canada and the United States has created “a perfect storm for really dry conditions to provide a lot of fuel for these wildfires to burn.” Scientific research has found that warming driven by the burning of coal, oil and gas is making wildfires more frequent and more intense.

Tyler Hasenstein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota, urged people to remain indoors as much as they can, particularly with extreme heat and wildfire smoke arriving at the same time.

“Those two things coinciding with each other is not good from a health perspective,” Hasenstein said.

Authorities in Michigan and Wisconsin also cautioned residents Tuesday that poor air quality could persist for several days. Elevated concentrations of fine particle pollution from wildfire smoke can be especially harmful for sensitive groups, including children and people with heart or lung disease.

In parts of Maine, residents reported yellowish and brownish skies as smoke drifted overhead. “There is plenty of smoke upstream, so expect periods of hazy skies over the next day before the cold front pushes through,” the National Weather Service office in Gray, Maine, said Tuesday on social media.

Hasenstein said dense smoke is expected to expand into the East Coast and Midwest by Wednesday afternoon, affecting areas that include parts of the New England coast, northern Pennsylvania, Detroit and Milwaukee.

Multiple counties in western and central New York were under an air quality advisory Wednesday until midnight. The most intense smoke could spread as far south as Washington, D.C., by midday Thursday, Hasenstein said.

Fine particle pollution from wildfire smoke can cause shortness of breath, coughing, dizziness or fatigue and aggravate heart and lung diseases and other chronic health issues. Experts suggest reducing or eliminating outdoor activities, wearing a N95 mask if you have to be outside and keeping your indoor air cleaner by closing windows and running an air purifier or air conditioner. Long term, exposure to fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke is one of the leading causes of premature death.