Canadian wildfire smoke chokes north-central Montana
Smoke in Helena is shown in 2021. North-central Montana could be in for a long year as Canadian smoke already is pouring into the state. (Photo Matt Volz / Kaiser Health News).
Smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted down heavily into Montana on Wednesday and Thursday, covering a large swath of north-central Montana.
Air monitoring stations in Choteau, Cut Bank, Havre and Glasgow all had periods of 'Unhealthy' air over the last 48 hours, with air quality index moving over 200 on Wednesday morning in some towns.
As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, the AQI in many of those places had dropped down into the moderate category.
'Low pressure moving across the state on Thursday will result in reductions in surface smoke concentrations,' Montana DEQ said in a Facebook post. 'A series of storms will provide beneficial rainfall for the region into the weekend.'
When air gets smokey, it's best to be inside and avoid extreme outdoor physical exertion. Air filters can also help vulnerable populations.
Fire have been burning in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan since May. Some Canadian smoke has even drifted as far as Europe.
Over 7.8 million acres have burned in Canada this year, and there are over 200 active wildfires in Canada. The 25-year average for Canadian acreage burned from wildfires is 7.3 million acres.
Montana has had several small wildfires early this season. Forecasts call for an active fire season in the state.
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