Canada fires prompt US air quality alerts as smoke blankets major cities

Chris Fawkes, BBC Weather, Rachel Flynnand, Nadine Yousif, Senior Canada reporter, Toronto

Spencer Platt / Getty Images – A thick haze of smoke has descended on New York City, which the state’s governor called a “very serious health situation”

---

More than 800 wildfires are burning across Canada, with air quality alerts now extending south into multiple US states.

A thick blanket of smoke clouded skylines from Detroit and Toronto to New York and across New England, causing “hazardous” air quality alerts across much of the region.

Many outdoor events were cancelled as officials urged for people to stay indoors, stressing the dangerous health ramifications of inhaling the fumes.

‘You can taste the smoke’: New Yorkers on air quality as fires burn across Canada

Hazardous air quality alerts have been issued in cities, including Chicago and Grand Rapids in Michigan, Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and Toledo in Ohio, according to the US Air Quality Index program.

Many outdoor activities were cancelled on Thursday, including events for children’s summer camps, and beaches were shuttered along popular lakes. An outdoor concert for the rock group The Black Keys was being rescheduled in Chicago due to the dangerous air quality.

There are currently 858 fires actively burning in Canada, including 30 new fires that sparked on Thursday, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. The vast majority are burning out of control.

Continue/Read Original Article: Canada fires prompt US air quality alerts as smoke blankets major cities