Air quality alerts in place for 10 states due to Canadian wildfires
The alerts come as the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre lists 746 active fires on Tuesday morning, including 199 that were considered out of control. On Monday morning, 743 active fires were listed, including 298 that were out of control.
All of Wisconsin remains under air quality alert, with some parts placed under 'red' alert, meaning some members of the general public may experience adverse health effects; and other parts of the state are placed under 'orange' alert, meaning air quality may be 'unhealthy' for sensitive groups.
The smoke is expected to recirculate and effect northeast Wisconsin the most. The alert will remain in place until noon on Tuesday.
Connecticut's Fairfield, New Haven and Middlesex counties are under 'orange' alert for Tuesday.
Several cities in Indiana were placed under 'orange' alert for all of Tuesday until midnight, including Gary, Hammond, Merrillville, Portage, Valparaiso, Chesterton, Roselawn, Kentland, Morocco, Rensselaer and DeMotte.
Massachusetts was placed under 'orange' alert from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday. The alert affects parts of the Berkshires, including the cities of Dalton, Hancock, Pittsfield, Florida, North Adams, Sandisfield, Great Barrington and South Egremont.
Minnesota's northeast region is under an 'orange' alert until noon local time on Wednesday. Periods of low air quality is possible for the southeast and north-central parts of the state as well.
Michigan counties placed under 'orange' alert for Tuesday include Chippewa, Mackinac, Emmet, Cheboygan, Presque Isle, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Oscoda, Alcona, Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Gladwin and Arenac.
New York is under 'orange' alert for all of Tuesday until midnight in several counties: New York, Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam.
New Jersey's Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex and Union counties are under 'orange' alert for all of Tuesday until midnight.
Eastern Pennsylvania was placed under an 'orange' alert for all of Tuesday until midnight.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
On This Date: Early Morning Tornadoes Strike New York City, Including Brooklyn's First In Over A Century
New York City was hit by a pair of tornadoes 18 years ago, one of which was the first to strike Brooklyn in more than a century. As New Yorker's were waking up Aug. 8, 2007, severe thunderstorms packing a tornado threat struck the city in the 6 a.m. EDT hour. The first tornado hit Staten Island, where it produced EF1 damage, mainly to trees. It tracked nearly two miles from around Castleton Corners to Tompkinsville. Two minutes after that tornado dissipated, another stronger one formed and struck Brooklyn, downing trees and causing structural damage to roofs along a four-mile long path. The worst damage, rated EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, was seen in the Bay Ridge area. This is considered a strong tornado, packing winds between 111 to 135 mph. In addition to the tornadoes, the storms also produced significant flash flooding during the morning rush across New York City, including on several subway lines and roads. Tornadoes don't happen every year in the local area covered by the National Weather Service in Upton, New York, which includes far southeast New York, northeast New Jersey and southern Connecticut. Since 2008, there were four years with no tornadoes at all, but as many as 12 in 2018, and 10 in 2021, according to the National Weather Service. All other years had between 1 to 4 twisters. Chris Dolce has been a senior digital meteorologist with for 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Emergency recordings and videos detail the chaotic rescue efforts during the deadly Texas floods
Here are some of the harrowing moments: 12:30 to 1:15 a.m. CDT In a Slack chat, a National Weather Service forecaster tells emergency managers, meteorologists and news media that the agency is monitoring Kerr County, but so far there has been little rain. Within 40 minutes, two weather cells combine, creating a dramatically more dangerous situation. A flash flood warning goes out at 1:14 a.m. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up With the storm making already spotty cellphone service worse, some people report receiving the first National Weather Service notification on their phones, while others say they never received it. Advertisement 2 to 3 a.m. The water rises quickly at Camp Mystic. A spokesperson for the camp would later say staff began evacuating campers and counselors between 2 and 2:30 a.m. The girls leave their cabins and try to wade to safety. None of the emergency communications between midnight and 6 a.m. reviewed by the AP were about responses to the camp. Advertisement 3:30 to 4 a.m. Kerr County emergency dispatchers request the first water rescue at 3:35 a.m. Emergency calls come in for homes flooding along Highway 39. 'Caller's house flooded,' a dispatcher radios. 'All the residents are on their house.' A later call from Camp La Junta staff reports dozens of boys are in the water after a cabin flooded. Several volunteer fire departments and other law enforcement officers respond to areas around the Guadalupe River after realizing the severity of the situation. Frantic calls would come from people on rooftops and in attic rafters who say they felt the cabins moving under them. Calls would also come from people who scrambled up trees after it was too late to leave by car. 4:16 a.m. A U.S. Geological Survey river gauge about a half mile east of Hunt is already recording almost 24 feet of water – considered major flood stage for the Guadalupe River. As the water rises in a home near the river, Jane Towler captured video on her phone of the muddy water in the kitchen. 'Everything in our yard has floated away,' she told her son and a family friend. 'I want us to be prepared to go up in the attic.' They wound up surviving the night on the roof. Kerr County's 'CodeRed' alert system, which allows the county to send cellphone alerts, would become a point of contention after the flood. Residents and others ask why county officials didn't use the alerts at the height of the emergency. Fire rescuers had asked for a 'CodeRed' alert as early as 4:22 a.m. East of Hunt, the swell of water overtakes an area full of out-of-town campers. 4:35 a.m. A fire rescuer calls out that there are children trapped in the water at the RV parks behind Howdy's restaurant on the western edge of Kerrville. Advertisement 'We're trying to keep people out of the water but they're trying to go in on their own to get those children,' she reports. 'We need some law enforcement down here, now!' Rescuers work to evacuate the RV parks as several of the vehicles are swept away, some with families still inside. Interviews with family members and others would later reveal that more than 40 people staying in the area died. 4:45 a.m. A crew of rescuers from San Antonio arrive to help, but with no command center established, they wait for instructions in a fast food parking lot — less than 2 river miles from the RV park. The rising water overtakes their trucks and strands their boats for hours. Radio traffic shows that an official command center wouldn't be set up until after 6 a.m. Other out-of-town crews rely on word of mouth to determine where and how to help. Many rescuers on the banks can't reach people in the swollen river. 4:59 a.m. A firefighter runs along the river trying to find people he can hear in the water but cannot see. Volunteer firefighters are forced to think on their feet in a scenario many have never experienced before. They move teams to bridges and river crossings, trying to find places they can pull people from the water without boats. 'If you could, see if Kerrville's got a crew that they could set up at Bear Creek off Arcadia and see if they could pick up any of the people that are washing by us,' one asks a dispatcher. Advertisement 5:09 a.m. Screams sound in the distance as waters rise at an RV park along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. Testimony from Kerr County leaders at a legislative hearing at the end of July would confirm that the county's top official was out of town, the sheriff was asleep and the emergency management coordinator was sick in bed when the floods and the emergency response began. 5:32 a.m. Additional rescuers from state task forces and neighboring counties continue to rely on others in the field for direction. 'Sir, we don't have an incident command right now,' a dispatcher tells one crew. 'Received,' the responder says. 'Please advise when you have an assignment for us.' 6 to 6:30 a.m. As daylight breaks, emergency personnel are able to see the catastrophic scope of the flooding from the air, but rescuers keep struggling to find and reach survivors. They scan the water from bridges and crossings. 'I have multiple people in backyards hanging onto trees yelling at us, but we can't see them,' a rescuer tells dispatch. 8:33 a.m. As the morning stretches on, dispatchers start getting calls from people spotting possible survivors. 'We've been contacted by a passerby,' a Kerr County dispatcher tells rescuers. 'There's a person flashing a signal light in the trees in the vicinity of Tranquility Island. I believe they're summoning rescue.' Rescues, including by helicopter, continue into the afternoon. Crews also begin recovering bodies. For many families holding out hope of having their loved ones returned, it would take days or weeks due to the massive amount of debris and the widespread search area along the Guadalupe River. In the following days The death toll would grow to at least 136; three people remain missing. Residents along the Guadalupe River and the families of victims have questioned why they had no notice of the impending flood. The waters rose quickly in the middle of the night, and hard-hit Kerr County lacked an updated flood warning system; state and local agencies had missed opportunities to finance one. Advertisement Local officials told Texas lawmakers who visited the area weeks later that they also need better communications systems and broadband. Questions have also been raised about why top emergency officials weren't involved sooner. Lawmakers say they are intent on learning lessons from the catastrophe. ___ Associated Press reporters Sean Murphy, Seth Borenstein, Nadia Lathan, Christopher L. Keller and Stephen Smith contributed to this report.
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
How the July 4 Texas Flood Unfolded in 12 Moments: Timeline
Cries for help came from the pitch-black woods, from rooftops and from attics that shifted unsteadily as the water rose. Firefighters and police raced to help, having little guidance on where or how. Top emergency leaders were asleep or out of town. A sheriff's deputy pauses while combing through debris on the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on Saturday, July 5, 2025, after a deadly flash flood swept through the area. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Using recordings of first responder communications, weather service warnings, survivor videos and official testimony, The Associated Press has assembled a chronology of 12 moments in the chaotic rescue effort as a flash flood barreled east through the Hill Country of Central Texas before dawn on July 4. The flooding killed at least 136 people — including more than two dozen children and counselors at Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp for girls that was among the first areas inundated. Here are some of the harrowing moments of the July 4 flood response. In a Slack chat, a National Weather Service forecaster tells emergency managers, meteorologists and news media that the agency is monitoring Kerr County, but so far there has been little rain. Within 40 minutes, two weather cells combine, creating a dramatically more dangerous situation. A flash flood warning goes out at 1:14 a.m. With the storm making already spotty cellphone service worse, some people report receiving the first National Weather Service notification on their phones, while others say they never received it. After 2 a.m., water rises quickly at Camp Mystic. Campers and counselors evacuate their cabins and try to wade to safety. None of the emergency communications between midnight and 6 a.m. reviewed by AP concern responses to the camp. Kerr County emergency dispatchers request the first water rescue at 3:35 a.m. Emergency calls come in for homes flooding along Highway 39. A later call from Camp La Junta staff reports dozens of boys are in the water after a cabin flooded. Several volunteer fire departments and other law enforcement officers respond to areas around the Guadalupe River after realizing the severity of the situation. Frantic calls would come from people on rooftops and in attic rafters who say they felt the cabins moving under them. Calls would also come from people who scrambled up trees after it was too late to leave by car. A U.S. Geological Survey river gauge about a half mile (0.8 km) east of Hunt is already recording almost 24 feet (7.3 meters) of water – considered major flood stage for the Guadalupe River. As the water rises in a home near the river, Jane Towler tells her son and a family friend that they need to be prepared to go up into the attic. Kerr County's 'CodeRed' alert system, which allows the county to send alerts to people's cellphones, would become a point of contention after the flood. Residents and others ask why county officials didn't use the alerts at the height of the emergency. Fire rescuers had asked for a 'CodeRed' alert as early as 4:22 a.m. East of Hunt, the swell of water overtakes an area full of out-of-town campers. A fire rescuer calls out that there are children in the water at the RV parks behind Howdy's restaurant on the western edge of Kerrville. Soon after, she asks for law enforcement to help rescuers stop adults from jumping in the water and risk being dragged away while trying to get to the children. Rescuers work to evacuate the RV parks as several of the vehicles are swept away, some with families still inside. Interviews with family members and others would later reveal that more than 40 people staying in the area died. A crew of rescuers from San Antonio arrive to help, but with no command center established, they wait for instructions in a fast food parking lot – less than 2 river miles (3.2 km) from the RV park. The rising water overtakes their trucks and strands their boats for hours. Radio traffic shows that an official command center wouldn't be set up until after 6 a.m. Out-of-town crews rely on word of mouth to determine where and how to help. Many rescuers on the banks can't reach people in the swollen river. Rescue workers are seen a boat as they search for missing people near Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) A firefighter runs along the river trying to find people he can hear in the water but cannot see. Volunteer firefighters are forced to think on their feet in a scenario many have never experienced before. They move teams to bridges and river crossings, trying to find places they can pull people from the water without boats. Screams sound in the distance as waters rise at an RV park along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. Testimony from Kerr County leaders at a legislative hearing at the end of July would confirm that the county's top official was out of town, the sheriff was asleep and the emergency management coordinator was sick in bed when the floods and the emergency response began. With no incident command set up, additional rescuers from state task forces and neighboring counties continue to rely on others in the field for direction. A dispatcher tells rescuers to seek assignments at the Lakehouse parking lot. Rescuers spend hours in darkness trying to find people they could hear but not see in the river and in homes. They shout to alert their counterparts downstream about people floating toward them. Floodwaters are seen in the area of an RV park located along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. As daylight breaks, emergency personnel are able to see the catastrophic scope of the flooding from the air. Rescuers struggle even as day breaks to find survivors some of whom are clinging to trees and debris. They scan the water from bridges and crossings. As the morning stretches on, dispatchers start getting calls from people spotting possible survivors. A Kerr County dispatcher alerts rescuers to a person in a tree trying to signal a passerby for help. Rescues, including by helicopter, continue into the afternoon. Crews also begin recovering bodies of victims. For many families holding out hope of having their loved ones returned, it would take days or weeks, because of the massive amount of debris and the widespread search area along the Guadalupe River. Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, load a body into a raft as they prepare for a water recovery along the Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman) A helicopter conducts a rescue near an RV park located along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. In the ensuing days the death toll grew to at least 136; three people remain missing. Residents along the Guadalupe River and the families of victims have questioned why they had no notice of the impending flood. The waters rose quickly in the middle of the night, and hard-hit Kerr County lacked an updated flood warning system; state and local agencies had missed opportunities to finance one. Local officials told Texas lawmakers who visited the area weeks later that they also need better communications systems and broadband. Questions have also been raised about why top emergency officials weren't involved sooner. Lawmakers say they are intent on learning lessons from the catastrophe. Associated Press reporters Sean Murphy, Seth Borenstein, Nadia Lathan, Christopher L. Keller and Stephen Smith contributed to this report.
