Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Prompts Air Quality Alerts In 12 States

Smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to affect parts of the United States, particularly the northern Plains, the Midwest and the Great Lakes region. At least 10 states are under air quality alerts due to the smoke.

"Wildfire smoke from western Canada will reduce air quality over parts of the northern High Plains, upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes and western Ohio Valley, prompting air quality warnings over the area," the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said Sunday.

Forecasters are expecting nearly 60 million people to suffer from decreased visibility and poor air quality, including in several towns and cities from Montana to Ohio, CNN reported.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) AirNow page has tagged some parts of South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Tennessee and Ohio as having "unhealthy" air quality as of Sunday night, including Cleveland, Des Moines, Sioux Falls and Nashville.

More than 880 wildfires are active across Canada as of Sunday night, as per the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CCIFFC). While 200 blazes are already under control, more than 580 fires are still "out of control," the agency noted. Nineteen new fires were ignited Sunday, the agency added.

In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) declared a statewide Code Orange air quality Action Day on Monday, which the office describes as a day when vulnerable communities such as the elderly and those with respiratory problems are "especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities."

The EPA notes on its website that an orange in the air quality index (AQI) means air levels are "unhealthy for sensitive groups." Meanwhile, red is "unhealthy," and some individuals may experience the health effects of polluted air. As for purple and maroon, they are on the "very unhealthy" and "hazardous" levels, respectively.

Air quality alerts are issued when ozone data or reaches or exceeds an AQI of 101, according to the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency.

Montana

Air quality alert effective through 9 a.m. Monday:

• Big Horn, Garfield, Golden Valley, Cascade, Liberty, Judith Basin, Yellowstone, Richland, Sheridan, Wilbaux, Phillips, Musselshell, Toole, McCone, Pondera, Treasure, Sweet Grass, Fergus and Fallon, among others

Wyoming

Air quality alerts effective through 1 p.m. Monday:

• Sheridan Foothills
• Goshen, Niobrara, east and southwest Platte County and central Laramie Range

Iowa

Air quality alert effective through noon Monday:

• All of Iowa

Wisconsin

Air quality alert effective through early Monday:

• Columbia, Jefferson, Milwaukee, Green Lake, Washington, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Lafayette, Fond Du Lac, Racine, Sauk and Walworth, among others

Illinois

Air quality alert effective through early Monday:

• All of Illinois

Indiana

Air quality alert effective through 11:30 p.m. Monday:

• Dearborn, Fayette, Ohio, Wayne, Franklin, Union, Switzerland and Ripley

Air quality alertseffective through midnight Monday:

• Benton, Jasper, Lake, Clark, Floyd, Newton and Porter
• Crawford, Washington, Orange, Harrison, Scott, Perry and Dubois

Michigan

Air quality alerts effective through midnight Monday:

• Cass, northern and southern Berrien, St. Joseph and Branch
• Bay, St. Clair, Livingston, Huron, Saginaw, Macomb, Sanilac, Tuscola, Wayne, Monroe, Washtenaw, Shiawassee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Genesee and Midland
• Muskegon, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Newaygo, Allegan, Mecosta, Clare, Jackson, Ionia, Van Buren and Osceola, among others

Kentucky

Air quality alerts effective through 2 a.m. Tuesday:

• Christian and Tigg
• Bullitt, Jefferson and Oldham

Air quality alert effective through 11:30 a.m. Monday:

• Boone, Campbell and Kenton

Tennessee

Air quality alert effective through 1 a.m. Monday:

• Macon, Davidson, Smith, Trousdale, Montgomery, Williamson, Cheatham, Hickman, Maury, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, Wilson, Macon and Cannon

North Carolina

Air quality alert effective through 9 p.m. Monday:

• Alamance, Guilford, Forsyth, Randolph and Davidson

Air quality alert effective through Monday evening:

• Caswell, Rockingham and Stokes

Pennsylvania

Air quality alerts effective through midnight Monday:

• Clearfield, Northumberland, Snyder, Lebanon, McKean, Dauphin, northern Lycoming, Somerset, York, Juniata, Perry, Warren, Union and Montour, among others
• Venango, Lawrence, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Mercer, Fayette Ridges, Butler, Clarion, Forest and Beaver, among others
• Delaware, eastern and western Montgomery, upper and lower Bucks, eastern and western Chester and Philadelphia
• Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, Lackawanna, Bradford, Pike and Susquehanna

New York

Air quality alerts effective through midnight Monday:

• Hamilton, Schoharie, eastern and western Dutchess, eastern and western Ulster, northern and southern Fulton, eastern and western Rensselaer, northern and southern Saratoga, and eastern Greene, among others
• Eastern and western Franklin, eastern and western Clinton
• Tompkins, Schuyler, Onondaga, Chemung, Steuben, Broome and Seneca, among others