Canadian wildfires air quality turned hazardous Friday as smoke from Canada and Minnesota pushed deeper into the U.S., blanketing Washington, D.C. and leaving millions in the Great Lakes, Northeast and mid-Atlantic under unhealthy air. Bob Oravec of the National Weather Service said the smoky conditions would not clear quickly.
“The source of the smoke is going to continue on for certainly a week, probably,” he said Friday. Warnings of dangerous conditions were expected to stay in effect through Saturday while storms were forecast in some affected areas over the weekend.
Washington, D.C. in haze
Stewart Verdery, a D.C. resident, posted video of the scene on X Friday and described the morning air in blunt terms: “It’s pretty crazy to wake up at sunrise and not see the sun when it’s not even raining.” He added: “And it smells like somebody’s having the world’s largest cookout.”
The haze did not stop at the city skyline. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and other national landmarks were enveloped in an orange-hued haze throughout much of Friday, and Washington, D.C. was not far behind Detroit in air quality.
Chicago River on Friday
In Chicago, Maria Travela said Friday was her first day outside since smoke from the wildfires blanketed the area early Thursday. She has asthma and wore a mask while crossing a bridge over the Chicago River downtown.
“Now it’s better. This morning, it was bad,” she said Friday. She also said, “They were saying that, for people like me, with asthma, any kind of issues like that, it would be bad for your lungs.”
Communities in Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan, including Detroit, again registered some of the worst air quality in the world on Friday according to IQAir. People with heart or lung disease, older adults and children were urged to limit or avoid going outside until air quality improved.
Ontario and Minnesota fires
The smoke traced back to wildfires burning in Ontario and in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. U.S. officials have closed the wilderness as they fight to put out the blazes, and Oravec said the fires were burning largely unchecked.
Doug Ford said Friday there were about 190 wildfires in northern Ontario and that 10 northern Ontario communities had been evacuated or were being evacuated. Flames destroyed the Namaygoosisagagun First Nation community.
Storms may bring some temporary relief, but Oravec’s warning points to a longer stretch of poor air. For people in the affected regions, the practical move through Saturday is to keep outdoor time short when the air looks thick or smells smoky, especially if they are in a higher-risk group.
Donald Trump posted on social media Friday blaming Canada for its forest management and threatening additional tariffs on Canada.
