Canada wildfires: Millions of people breathe harmful air as smoke from wildfires raging in Canada drifts south across US (see pics and video)

New York, June 8: Smoke from Canadian wildfires billowed into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, casting an unhealthy haze over both capitals, grounding flights at major airports, postponing Major League Baseball games and prompting people to pull out of big boxes. Masks during epidemic times.

Canadian officials are asking for additional help from other countries to fight more than 400 fires across the country that have displaced 20,000 people. The air with dangerous levels of pollution extended into the New York metropolitan area, central New York state and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Plenty of unhealthy air stretched across North Carolina and Indiana, affecting millions. Surreal post-apocalyptic picture surface of New York City skyline shrouded in Canadian wildfire smoke.

Watch the video: Canadian wildfire effects in New York

“I can taste the air,” Dr. Ken Strumpf said in a Facebook post in Syracuse, New York, wrapped in an amber hood. The smoke even made him a little dizzy, he said later on the phone. Canada wildfire impact: Air quality drops in Ottawa city as smoke turns sky orange (watch video).

Watch the video: Wildfires in Canada

The Air Quality Index, an Environmental Protection Agency measure of air pollution, sometimes exceeds a staggering 400 in Syracuse, New York City and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. A level of 50 or below is considered good; anything over 300 is considered “hazardous,” and even healthy people are advised to reduce outdoor physical activity.

In Baltimore, Debbie Funk and her husband, Jack Hughes, wear blue surgical masks every day at Fort McHenry, a national monument overlooking the Patapsco River. McHenry) for a walk around. The air above the water thickens, obscuring the horizon.

“I walked outside this morning and it was like a puff of smoke,” Fink said.

Canadian officials say this will be the worst wildfire season on record in the country. Fire and environmental officials said it started earlier than usual on drier-than-usual ground and went so fast that it drained firefighting resources across the country.

Smoke from fires across the country has been spreading into the U.S. since last month, but as the latest blazes in Quebec intensified, some 100 fires were believed to be out of control on Wednesday — a disturbing day for Canada Clean Air Day.

Smoke billowed from downtown Ottawa, the Canadian capital, and office buildings across the Ottawa River were barely visible. In Toronto, Ma Yili said her hiking plans were canceled and she was ditching the restaurant patio, a beloved Canadian summer tradition.

The 31-year-old lamented: “I put the mask on for more than a year, and now I have been wearing it since yesterday.” Quebec Premier François Legault said the province currently has the ability to extinguish about 40 fires — — and because of the fires in Nova Scotia and elsewhere, the usual reinforcements from other provinces have been stretched.

More than 950 firefighters and others from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have arrived, with more on the way, said Jennifer Kamo, a spokeswoman for Canada’s interagency Forest Fire Centre.

In Washington, White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden had sent more than 600 firefighters and equipment to Canada. She said his administration had contacted some U.S. governors and local officials about providing assistance.

Chibougamau, the largest town in northern Quebec, with a population of about 7,500, was evacuated on Tuesday, and Legault said about 4,000 residents of the northern Kerry town of Mistissini may have to leave on Wednesday. But later in the day, Mistissini Chief Michael Petawabano said his community remained safe and asked residents to wait for instructions from Cree officials.

Some rain fell in eastern Quebec on Wednesday, but Simon Legault, a meteorologist with Montreal-based Environment Canada, said wildfires were expected to be more intense in remote areas of central Quebec, with no heavy rain for a few days.

National Weather Service meteorologist Zach Taylor said the current weather pattern in the central and eastern U.S. is essentially funneling the smoke. Some rain in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this weekend or early next week should help clear the air, but containing or extinguishing the fires would bring more complete relief, he said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said state facilities will provide 1 million N95 masks. New York City closed its beaches and Mayor Eric Adams told residents to stay indoors if possible as smog blanketed the skyline. Zoos in the Bronx and Central Park closed early and brought animals indoors.

The Federal Aviation Administration suspended some flights to LaGuardia and slowed flights to Newark Liberty Airport and Philadelphia as the smog limited visibility. It also caused delays in arrivals at Dulles International Airport on the outskirts of Washington, as thick fog shrouded the Washington Monument and forced the cancellation of outdoor tour groups.

Major League Baseball postponed games in New York and Philadelphia, and even an indoor WNBA game in Brooklyn was canceled. On Broadway, “Killing Eve” star Jodie Comer struggled to breathe and left the matinee after 10 minutes; the show restarted with a replacement, the show’s publicist said. In Central Park, the popular outdoor Shakespeare Park performance was postponed until Friday.

Schools in several states have canceled sports and other outdoor activities and moved recess indoors. Live horse racing at Delaware Park in Wilmington on Wednesday and Thursday was canceled. Organizers of the Virtual 5K Global Running Day are advising participants to adjust their plans based on air quality.

New Jersey closed state offices early, and some political demonstrations from Manhattan to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, were moved indoors or postponed. A high-profile Hollywood writer has been pulled off the picket line in the New York metropolitan area.

The smoke exacerbated the health problems of Vicki Burnett, 67, who suffers from asthma and severe bronchitis. “I came in and started coughing and jumped back into bed,” Burnett said Wednesday morning after taking her dog out in Farmington Hills, Mich.

Still, she stressed that it was Canadians she cared about, not just herself. “It’s unfortunate that I’ve had some problems, but they should be helped,” she said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)