Smoke from Canadian wildfires reaches US, Minnesota under air quality alert

With more than 100 active wildfires in Canada, wildfire smoke has crossed the U.S. border, prompting Minnesota officials to issue the state’s first air quality alert of 2024.

At least 37 of Canada’s 141 active wildfires have been labeled “out of control,” including one that started Friday in British Columbia and has since grown to 4,200 acres, forcing the evacuation of the small town of Fort Nelson, and the Fort Nelson Indian Reservation, officials said.

Most active wildfires, at least 90, are in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.

Canada’s national preparedness level has increased to level 2 out of 5, meaning “wildfire activity is increasing in one or more jurisdictions,” according to the Canadian Interagency Wildfire Centre.

In the United States, smoke from Canada’s wildfires reached states from Montana to Wisconsin, but it was particularly heavy Sunday in Minnesota. Minnesota’s air quality alert was issued Sunday and will remain in effect through Monday.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) for much of northern Minnesota today is between 150 and 200, which is “unhealthy” and has at times exceeded the 200 AQI mark, in an area ” very unhealthy.”

Bemidji, a city in northern Minnesota, recorded an AQI of 212 on Sunday, where residents could smell smoke in the air at those levels and placed the city among the worst places in the world for air quality .

Overnight in Minneapolis, Minnesota, medium to heavy levels of smoke were expected to reach the surface, with authorities warning residents, especially those with allergies, to make sure their windows remain closed until Monday morning.

As the sun rose Monday, smoke from U.S. wildfires was much lower, with average levels stretching from Wisconsin to southern Minnesota.

By Monday evening, Omaha, Nebraska, is expected to experience hazier skies due to smoke from wildfires.

Since the start of the year, there have been more than 950 wildfires in Canada, nearly triple the number three weeks ago, officials said.

The effects of wildfire smoke are a growing concern in the United States and are only expected to get worse, according to a study released in February.

By mid-century, the effects of wildfire smoke could cause surprising health risks for 125 million Americans, according to the First Street Foundation, a provider of climate risk data.

In June 2023, smoke from Canadian wildfires covered parts of the Northeast and Midwest in a thick orange haze.

At the time, eighteen states, from Montana to New York and as far south as Georgia, were under air quality alerts, according to AirNow. New York City tops the list of worst air quality rankings in the world by a landslide, according to IQ Air.

Wildfire smoke poses health risks to everyone, but especially to people with existing health conditions. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it is associated with stroke, heart disease, respiratory disease, lung cancer and early death.