Canadian wildfires sending smoke into parts of Midwest, including Ohio
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — As wildfires rage in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Midwest is starting to see the impacts of the blaze nearly a thousand miles away.
The fires started last month and have burned millions of acres of land across Canada, and with the current weather pattern, that smoke made its way into the Miami Valley over the weekend.
Air Quality Alert issued for June 3
Meteorologists say the heat from the wildfires is so extreme that it can lift the smoke high into the air.
'It lifts it very high into the air, which is then picked up by upper-level winds and pushed downstream, which gets to us,' said John Franks, NWS Wilmington meteorologist.
Dayton's air quality has not seen a significant uptick in numbers, since there's a minimal amount of low level smoke. Instead, the smoke got picked up by the jet stream, keeping it higher in the air.
'Certainly the lower to the ground where we're actually out and about and breathing, it's going to be more impactful,' said Joy Landry, Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency communications specialist. 'If we're lucky, it stays kind of higher up there.'
Storm Team 2 forecast: Hazy sunshine, due to Canadian wildfire smoke
An air quality alert has been issued for Tuesday in the Miami Valley, but with rain on the way in the middle of the week, the hazy skies will come to an end.
'The rain's just literally going to wash away those particles just the same as if you were throwing charcoal on your driveway and you hose it down. It's kind of that similar basic effect of just washing that away,' said Landry.
Wildfire season is just beginning in the United States and Canada, meaning the Miami Valley could see additional hazy skies later this summer and fall.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Air quality worsens in eastern US as Canadian wildfire smoke hangs over Midwest
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Smoke from Canadian wildfires started making air quality worse in the eastern U.S. on Wednesday as several Midwestern states battled conditions deemed unhealthy by the federal government. The fires have forced thousands of Canadians to flee their homes and sent smoke as far as Europe. In the U.S., the Midwest is bearing the brunt. Smoke lingered on the skylines of cities from Kansas City to Minneapolis, and a swath of the region had unhealthy air quality Wednesday, according to an Environmental Protection Agency map. Iowa issued a statewide air quality alert through early Thursday, urging residents to limit certain outdoor activities and warning of possible health effects due to the thick smoke. Wisconsin officials made similar suggestions as the smoke drifted southeast across the state. In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, authorities advised people shut windows at night, avoid strenuous activity outside and watch for breathing issues. Parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York had areas of moderate air quality concern, and officials advised sensitive people to consider reducing outdoor activity. New Hampshire authorities hoped conditions would improve by late Wednesday. 'The particle air pollution event is the result of extensive wildfires in central and western Canada,' the state's Department of Environmental Services said. 'Wind patterns are forecasted to transport plumes of smoke from these fires across much of New England and New Hampshire.' Unhealthy conditions persist in Midwest The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an alert for almost the entire state into Wednesday, but the Twin Cities area got the worst of it in the Midwest on Tuesday. 'As the smoke continues to move across the state Tuesday, air quality will slowly improve from northwest to southeast for the remainder of the alert area,' the agency said. 'The smoke is expected to leave the state by Wednesday at noon.' The Iowa Department of Natural Resources warned that air quality in a band from the state's southwest corner to the northeast could fall into the unhealthy category through Thursday morning. The agency recommended that people, especially those with heart and lung disease, avoid long or intense activities and to take extra breaks while doing strenuous actions outdoors. Conditions at ground level are in the red The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow map showed a swath of red for 'unhealthy' conditions across Wisconsin and northern Iowa. Northern Michigan was also the site of many unhealthy zones, the agency said. The Air Quality Index was around 160 in many parts of the upper Midwest, indicating unhealthy conditions. The Air Quality Index — AQI — measures how clean or polluted the air is, focusing on health effects that might be experienced within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. It is based on ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Particulates are the main issue from the fires The index ranges from green, where the air quality is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk, to maroon, which is considered hazardous. That level comes with health warnings of emergency conditions where everyone is more likely to be affected, according to AirNow. There were areas of reduced air quality all over the U.S. on Wednesday, with numerous advisories about moderate air quality concerns as far away as Kansas and Georgia. The Canadian fire situation Canada is having another bad wildfire season. Most of the smoke reaching the American Midwest has been coming from fires northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg in Manitoba. Canada's worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months. The smoke even reaches Europe Canada's wildfires are so large and intense that the smoke is even reaching Europe, where it is causing hazy skies but isn't expected to affect surface-air quality, according the European climate service Copernicus. ___ Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press writers Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan; and Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Canadian wildfire smoke could affect Wisconsin all summer. Here's how to track air quality
Wisconsin could see the affects of wildfire smoke throughout the summer as blazes across Canada rage on, subsequently affecting air quality in the U.S. Most recently, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued an air quality advisory for the entire state from June 3 to June 4. But, the state has already surpassed the total air quality advisory totals from wildfire smoke issued in 2024. Two advisories were issued in 2024 and three have been issued in 2025 thus far, DNR Air Management Outreach Coordinator Craig Czarnecki told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an email. Czarnecki added that more advisories are "possible throughout the summer." "As these wildfires become more frequent, last longer, or burn more intensely, it increases the chances that smoke will impact air quality here in Wisconsin," he said. Czarnecki said the department encourages Wisconsinites to "stay informed and take appropriate precautions" when air quality advisories are issued. Here's everything you should know about potential effects of these wildfires in Wisconsin: There are more than 200 wildfires burning across Canada as of June 3, with 104 classified as "out of control," according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. For Wisconsin specifically, the DNR said smoke is coming from wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. These fires have burned hundreds of thousands of acres, resulting in the evacuation of at least 17,000 people as of May 30. More: What to know about Canadian wildfire smoke's effect on Wisconsin, Milwaukee air quality The map below shows the locations of wildfires throughout North America and outlines where the smoke from those fires has gone. Wisconsin is just one of several states affected by the smoke. Wildfire smoke is a "complex mixture" of pollutants shown to cause a range of health effects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These effects can be "relatively minor," like eye irritation, to more serious, including premature death, the agency says. Moreover, particle pollution can affect the body's ability to "remove inhaled foreign materials," like viruses or bacteria, the EPA says. Short-term exposure — classified by the EPA as a few days — can result in respiratory and cardiovascular effects, such as difficulty breathing, reduced lung function and heart attacks. A study of wildland fire fighters showed "cumulative short-term exposures" — classified as multiple days to a few weeks — led to reduced lung function, per the EPA. The agency notes studies have not determined health effects from wildfire smoke inhalation "over multiple seasons." More: Canadian wildfire smoke is fouling U.S. air quality. We show where. Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself from the smoke, according to the DNR: Check local air quality index Stay indoors Keep windows and doors closed Avoid activities that can increase indoor pollution, like vacuuming or using candles Install a high-efficiency air filter Wear an N95 mask if outside for long time periods The AQI is the EPA's index for reporting air quality, according to the EPA's AirNow website. It's divided into six categories on a scale of zero to 500, with higher numbers indicating increased air pollution and subsequent health risks. For specific categories and totals, you can view an AQI table on the AirNow website. The DNR has interactive air quality maps, which show the AQI and any active alerts or advisories by county. You can view them on the department's website. USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What is causing the bad air quality in Wisconsin?
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Local professor gets second chance at life after terminal diagnosis
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A local university leader is getting a second chance at life, after receiving a terminal diagnosis and being given six months to live. 'In one way, the diagnosis was truth,' Dr. Will Smallwood, Vice President for Advancement at Cedarville University said. 'It was an answer to why I'm experiencing these things. But as you can imagine, a diagnosis of cancer instantly hits the heart and it hits the mind.' By all rights, Smallwood shouldn't be sitting here today. In December of 2023– after a litany of health issues– he learned he had multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the blood. 'Our minds go to the worst possible things,' Smallwood said. 'And that is cancer is going to take my life.' Doctors said he had just six months to live. 'We have a verse all over the place… Psalm 90:12,' Smallwood said. 'Teach us to number our days, right, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. That that really was already a framework in my mind.' A framework that guided his attitude, both then and now. 'Life is short and I know that,' Smallwood said. 'And whether I get diagnosed with cancer or I'm in a car accident or walking across the street or whatever, we don't have a guarantee of tomorrow.' Share your good news with 2! He says he had a choice: Give up, or trust God the same way he had for the last 40 years. 'Is that all suddenly just thrown out the window?' Smallwood said. 'It wasn't. And so in that very early time period as we began to just trust that, okay, if it's six months, it's okay. I know what's going to come next. And I'm not fearful of that and I'm okay with that. And so let's take advantage of the six months that we had.' He and his family leaned into that notion. They took advantage of every available treatment. 'By August of 2024, the doctors declared my cancer in what's called durable remission,' Smallwood said. 'So the cancer is still there and someday it will come back. It will rear its ugly head. And we may have to walk through this process again and again. I understand that, and I'm okay with that.' But in the meantime, he says he will use his experience to send a simple message to others facing similar trials: 'There's never a bad time to begin trusting in God,' Smallwood said. 'There's never a bad moment to begin that relationship. And even in the midst of cancer, it's a good time and trusting and sort of His sovereign grace and rule over my life and whether that six months or whatever the case may be.' Dr. Smallwood also credits his cancer team at Soin Cancer Center and the James Cancer Center in Columbus. He has since been able to return to his work at Cedarville and is leading the school's 175 million dollar '1000 Days Transformed' campaign. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
