Category: smoke

Federal Agency Issues New Alerts Targeting Much of Northern US

Canadian wildfire smoke is again inundating parts of the northern United States this week, triggering air quality alerts spanning Montana to Vermont. The alerts have been issued by the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) across about a dozen states on Monday morning, according to a map provided by the agency. Some news outlets estimated that the…


‘High-Risk’ Regions Remain in Canada’s Wildfire Battle, Says Minister

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said 2023 is Canada’s worst wildfire season on record, and while rainfall will bring relief for Quebec in the next few weeks, associated lightning storms could raise the risk of new fires. “Thunderstorms can increase the risk of fire activity due to lightning strikes, and warmer temperatures are also beginning…


Smoke From Wildfires Prompts Air Quality Concerns in Ontario

Smoke from wildfires in northern Quebec and Ontario is blanketing big cities like Toronto and going as far south as New York. The smoky haze has triggered air quality statements in parts of southern Ontario and the United States. There are dozens of such statements stretching across southern Ontario. Environment Canada is warning that air…


Smoke Cooled Air and Helped Slow Weekend Wildfire Spread in Alberta, Officials Say

Wildfire activity in Alberta wasn’t as bad over the holiday weekend as officials had feared when they saw the initial hot and dry weather forecasts because of smoke cover and limited rain in some areas. But it’s not all good news because while smoke cools the air, it limits the ability to fly firefighting aircraft…


Wildfire Smoke Chokes US Northwest, Residents Don Masks

SEATTLE, Wash.—Wildfires in Oregon and Washington are blanketing much of America’s Pacific Northwest with smoke, choking residents in Seattle, Portland and other parts of the two states with the worst air in the United States, according to government data. In the Seattle area, home to some 4 million people, the sky was brown and the…


Yosemite Wildfire Smoke Chokes National Park’s Views and Air Quality

A wildfire threatening some of the world’s oldest giant sequoia trees in California’s Yosemite National Park expanded five-fold over the weekend as smoke prompted air quality alerts throughout the park and obscured views of its famed scenery. As of Monday, the blaze had scorched 2,044 acres of timber and brush at the southern end of…


Wildfire Smoke, Heat Warnings up for Many Parts of Canada’s North: Environment Canada

Several parts of Northern Canada are enveloped in smoke from wildfires along with unusually high seasonal temperatures. Yukon has seen a huge leap in the number of blazes with just over 846 square kilometres of land scorched this year, while heat warnings and air quality statements are in effect in the Northwest Territories and part…


All Victims of Deadly Bronx Fire Identified, Including 2-Year-Old

NEW YORK—Many of the victims of New York City’s deadliest fire in years were still awaiting burial Thursday, after funerals began with services for two children killed by Sunday’s blaze in a Bronx apartment building. New York City police on Wednesday released the names and ages of the final three victims identified after the deadly…


Several With Grave Injuries After NYC Fire That Killed 19

NEW YORK—Doctors worked Monday to save the lives of multiple people gravely injured when smoke from a fire knocked them out or trapped them in their apartments in a New York City high-rise building. Nineteen people, including nine children, died in the blaze. Dozens of people were hospitalized, and Mayor Eric Adams said Monday morning…


Safety Doors Failed in NYC High-Rise Fire That Killed 17

NEW YORK—Investigators sought answers Monday for why safety doors failed to close when fire broke out in a New York high-rise, allowing thick smoke to rise through the tower and kill 17 people, including eight children, in the city’s deadliest blaze in more than three decades. A malfunctioning electric space heater apparently started the fire…