Wildfire smoke from Canada has blanketed NNY, with more expected | Top Stories

Air quality conditions were expected to significantly worsen across much of Michigan, northern Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota on Wednesday.

“It is recommended that, when possible, you avoid strenuous outdoor activities, especially those with heart disease and respiratory conditions like asthma,” wrote the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in its air quality alert for Wednesday.

“Keep windows closed overnight to prevent smoke from getting indoors and, if possible, run central air conditioning with MERV-13 or higher rated filters,” the department said.

Meanwhile, farther east, smoke modeling from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed air quality conditions had the potential to gradually worsen on Wednesday in these cities:

Watertown, Buffalo, Binghamton, Poughkeepsie and New York City in New York; Hartford, Danbury and New Haven in Connecticut; Providence in Rhode Island;Scranton in Pennsylvania; Newark in New Jersey.

This smoke is forecast to drift south and east on Wednesday night, reaching Philadelphia and then potentially Baltimore, D.C. and Boston by Thursday morning.

Wind flows are expected to continue blowing smoke of varying intensity into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic through Friday, before a brief shift in winds on Saturday may blow some of the smoke away.

This smoke was billowing from a dozen large and out-of-control wildfires burning in western Ontario.

The largest one had grown to more than 130,000 acres late Tuesday.

It was located in Wabakimi Provincial Park, about 135 miles north of the northern shores of Lake Superior.

Meanwhile, several large wildfires in Minnesota were also contributing to the smoke plumes. The two largest fires there were called the Thumb Fire and the Bear Trap Fire, burning through 14,500 and 13,500 acres, respectively.

These fires, which have prompted evacuations and closures of wilderness areas, were discovered on July 7, the day after a large thunderstorm complex produced significant amounts of lightning across Minnesota.

On Sunday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) declared a peacetime emergency and mobilized the National Guard to assist with the wildfire response.

“This emergency declaration allows for the mobilization of additional resources necessary to protect lives, prevent damage, and help the Minnesota [Department of Natural Resources] and our local communities respond,” he said.

Dry weather is expected in the areas where these fires are burning on Wednesday and Thursday, although scattered rain and thunderstorms are possible on Friday.

How will this compare with the apocalyptic wildfire smoke in June 2023?

Just over three years ago, the East Coast was blanketed in smoke from wildfires in Quebec.

For a time, New York looked more like Mars as the skies turned a tinge of orange. Air quality there reached the most hazardous level on record, peaking at a value of 465.

“At this time, current forecasts do not indicate a repeat of 2023 conditions,” wrote New York City Emergency Management in a statement on Tuesday, while adding that the arrival of the smoke would coincide with high heat on Wednesday, creating simultaneous “environmental health challenges.”

“To protect the health of New Yorkers, especially those at greatest risk, free KN95 masks are available at public library branches across the five boroughs,” the statement read.

This time, the highest and most dangerous smoke concentrations may end up occurring in eastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, Michigan and western New York, which are closer to the fires.