Winds push smoke from Canadian wildfires south into US and worsen air quality
Air quality in some parts of the United States is worsening as smoke from dozens of wildfires in Canada travels south, pushed by winds high in the atmosphere.
Air quality in Arrowhead, Minnesota, is deemed unhealthy for people and animals sensitive to pollution and other airborne particles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow page.
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Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Takeaways from AP's report on water quality and safety at US mobile home parks
More than 50 years after the Safe Drinking Water Act was passed to assure Americans of safe water, millions of people living in mobile home parks can't always count on those basic protections. The Associated Press examined an Environmental Protection Agency database on violations by water systems across the country, ranging from the tiniest up to major metropolitan areas. AP also surveyed states for their oversight of water systems. Here's a look at key findings from the AP report: Mobile home parks violate water rules more than cities and towns Nearly 70% of mobile home parks that run their own water systems violated safe drinking water rules over the past five years. That's well above the rate for cities (48%) and larger towns (57%), according to EPA data. The U.S. has some 50,000 water utilities, most serving small towns and rural areas. Many struggle to find expert staff and funding, and they violate clean water rules more often than the handful of large utilities that serve cities. But even among the hard-pressed small utilities, mobile home parks stand out. The AP analysis found that more than half these parks failed to perform a required test for at least one contaminant or failed to properly report the results, in the past five years. And they are far more likely to be repeat offenders of safe drinking water rules overall. Some mobile home parks go unmonitored The problems may go beyond what the figures show. Some parks don't appear in EPA's database at all and may go completely unregulated. For example, EPA officials were investigating high levels of cancer-causing arsenic in tap water at a Southern California mobile home park in 2021 when they realized there were several others in the area that weren't in their records, said Amy Miller, a former EPA head of enforcement in the region. Some were found to have high levels of arsenic that residents had been drinking for years. It's impossible to know how many under-the-radar parks there are. Most states aren't actively looking for them and say they don't find very many. There's another way that problems with mobile home park water can escape attention. Some mobile home parks get their water from an outside source — a nearby town, for example. That water can be safe when it reaches the park boundary but become contaminated if the park has substandard or poorly installed piping. The EPA doesn't generally track water once it's on private property, so those problems can go unseen. It may not be easy to escape bad water Bad water isn't always unsafe. Residents of mobile home parks in Michigan, Iowa and elsewhere reported taps that frequently ran dry or problems with discolored water that looked like coffee or tea, stained their laundry and made them fearful to open their mouths in the shower, for example. If residents are unhappy with management's response to such problems, it can be difficult to leave. That's because 'mobile' homes aren't all that mobile. Residents often own the home but rent the land they sit on, and it's difficult and expensive to move them. Esther Sullivan, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado, calls residents 'halfway homeowners' because of this dynamic. She said they often put up with problems because of the difficulty in moving. Almost 17 million people in the U.S. live in mobile homes. What some states are doing Utah is the rare state that enforces safe drinking water standards even within parks that get their water from another provider, according to AP's survey of states. And Colorado passed a law in 2023 that requires testing the water in every mobile home park. It gives health officials the ability to go beyond federal law to address taste, color and smell that can make people afraid to drink their water, even when it's not a health risk. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
Winnipeg Free Press
20 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Person found dead in a car as a wildfire forces the evacuation of a dozen villages in Cyprus
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Police in Cyprus police found a person dead inside a car Wednesday near a massive wildfire that has destroyed numerous homes and forced the evacuation of a dozen villages on the southern side of the island nation's Troodos mountain range. Police confirmed to The Associated Press that the individual's death appeared to have been caused by the fire which continues to uncontrollably over a number of fronts and is visible from the coastal resort town of Limassol. Investigators are on the scene but police did not release any additional details about the victim. The Cyprus Interior Ministry issued instructions for the immediate evacuation of villages along a 14-kilometer (8.7 mile) stretch of mountainous terrain. Children from at least one camping ground near the village of Lofou were also evacuated. Media reports showed some gutted homes smoldering as the flames swept through the outskirts of some villages. Images broadcast on media showed flames consuming trees, brush and other vegetation along a huge front burning bright orange against the backdrop of a nighttime sky. Police blocked road access to the fire-afflicted communities while some villagers were reportedly reluctant to flee their homes. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides sped to a fire fighting coordination center in the village of Ayios Efraim to be briefed on efforts to contain the blaze as crews struggled because of very windy conditions that quickly shifted the flames' direction. Christodoulides said more than 250 firefighters from across the island nation are at the front and expressed hope that winds would die down overnight according to a Weather Service forecast. 'I want to make a public appeal to all, I completely understand the issue with property, but people must follow the instructions from those who know best and evacuate their homes,' the Cypriot president said. He wouldn't say how large the fire is or offer any information about how it started, insisting that 'now is not the time.' Government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said that Spain would be sending two fire fighting aircraft Thursday morning to assist local crews. Some 13 aircraft had been fighting the blaze until sundown and will resume their work at first light. Jordan is helping with two of its own helicopters that had been deployed in Cyprus for firefighting needs. An RAF Chinook helicopter that operates from one of two British Bases on Cyprus is also assisting. Limassol Municipality and the local soccer club Apollonas offered apartments and a basketball court respectively to temporarily house evacuees. Cyprus has been on high alert for fires this summer after three consecutive arid winters.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Paul Gascoigne ‘back home and doing well' after hospital visit, representative says
LONDON (AP) — Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne is back home and 'doing well' after being hospitalized over the weekend, his representative said Monday. 'Paul voluntarily went into A&E on Friday after struggling with a throat condition he has had for a while,' Carly Saward at The MNT talent agency told The Associated Press in an email. 'He is already back home and doing well.' British newspaper The Sun reported that the 58-year-old Gascoigne had been found 'semi-conscious' at home by a friend on Friday in Poole in south England and initially been admitted to an intensive care unit. Gascoigne helped lead England to the semifinals at the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Championship and was widely considered one of the most naturally talented players of his generation. But he has battled alcohol addiction for decades and has also had other health problems in recent years. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP soccer:
