Millions of Americans Advised to Avoid Going Outside

Newsweek

14 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Millions of Americans living in states across the Midwest have been told to avoid going outside to avoid breathing in the wildfire smoke which has reached the region all the way from Canada.
Wildfire season is off to a grim start this year in the Great White North. The Western province of Manitoba declared a state of emergency on Friday for the second time this year. In May, fires killed two people in Manitoba and forced 30,000 to flee their homes to neighboring Saskatchewan. More than 100 wildfires are burning across the region, over 20 of which were considered out of control as of Sunday morning, and thousands of people have been evacuated.
It is a tragedy for the Canadian province, which has already reported 2.5 million acres of land burned by wildfires this year and which could soon see the most land burned since at least 1994.
But as the smoke and ash from the Manitoba wildfires drifts south, the smoke has proved a problem for many Americans as well.
Across The Border
Wildfires in Canada are generating a cloud of toxic smoke that has made its way across the border and into the U.S, where it is affecting air quality. Roughly 22 million people in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan are currently under statewide air quality alerts which are set to last until Monday morning.
The risk is from inhaling fine-particle pollution—known as PM 2.5—which state agencies say could mean "unhealthy" to "very unhealthy" levels. Some areas of Minnesota are set to briefly reach the "very unhealthy" range.
In Wisconsin, forecasters expect the heaviest smoke to reach locations farther north in the state, while the lowest concentrations of fine-particle pollution are expected across the southwest. In Michigan, the smoke is expected to expand across the state on Sunday, but the highest concentration of pollutants will be in the northern parts of the state. The southwest is likely to face moderate levels of PM 2.5.
Minnesota experienced the heaviest smoke on Saturday, but on Sunday the air quality should begin to improve as clean air moves in from the west. The smoke should be gone by the end of the day from most of the state, forecasters say, while a new round of smoke could be coming on Sunday night for northern Minnesota.
Parts of Colorado are also under air quality alerts, though these have nothing to do with the Canada wildfires. Several fires broke out in western Colorado this week, exacerbated by hot and dry conditions.
Experts Recommend Staying Indoors
The National Weather Service (NWS) recommends sensitive groups—including people with heart or lung disease, children, seniors and pregnant individuals—to avoid all physical activities outdoors.
Those who are likely to feel affected by the smoke should go indoors, the agency said. Individuals with asthma should follow their asthma action plan and keep quick-relief medicine at hand. People with heart disease should contact their health providers if they feel symptoms including palpitations, shortness of breath, or unusual fatigue.
Everyone else, the NWS said, should "keep outdoor activities shorter and less intense," even if they are not particularly vulnerable to air pollution. Residents under air quality alerts should also avoid activities that contribute to air pollution, including outdoor burning and the use of residential wood burning devices. They should also avoid vehicle trips and vehicle idling as much as possible, and keep their windows closed overnight to stop the smoke from coming into their homes.
Spoiling the American Summer
In a move that sparked controversy, a group of six Republican lawmakers from Minnesota and Wisconsin wrote a letter to Canada's ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, complaining about the smoke from the wildfires burning in Manitoba preventing their constituents from enjoying the summer.
"We write to you today on behalf of our constituents who have had to deal with suffocating Canadian wildfire smoke filling the air to begin the summer," wrote the group, which includes Tom Tiffany and Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin and Michelle Fischbach, Brad Finstad, Pete Stauber and Tom Emmer of Minnesota.
"Our constituents have been limited in their ability to go outside and safely breathe due to the dangerous air quality the wildfire smoke has created," they said. "In our neck of the woods, summer months are the best time of the year to spend time outdoors recreating, enjoying time with family, and creating new memories, but this wildfire smoke makes it difficult to do all those things."
The six members of Congress asked Hillman what her country was doing to mitigate the wildfire and "the smoke that makes its way south."
The premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, said the letter was an attempt to "trivialize and make hay out of a wildfire season where we've lost lives in our province."