A handful of fires burning east of Humboldt continue to spread, although some containment efforts have made progress in the McFarland Fire and River Complex...
A handful of fires burning east of Humboldt continued to grow overnight with minimal containment, bringing air quality and travel impacts. Parts of State Route 36 have reopened to controlled traffic. Overall hot, dry conditions are expected to complicate fire suppression efforts.
Active fires in northeastern Ontario and eastern Manitoba are expected to send smoke across northern Quebec today and Wednesday, Environment Canada said in a special air quality statement posted for each of the region’s 14 communities.
Wildfires across the western United States and Canada have put millions of people under air quality alerts, as thousands of firefighters battle the flames.
“It’s been hot, it’s been dry, and it’s been windy. And those winds gusts of 20 miles per hour, it’s kind of funneled through the Andreafsky River drainage,” said Beth Ipsen. Federal entities sent in more firefighters this week, and some residents are thinking about preparing their go-bags.
Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Health has advised citizens to take measures to protect themselves from the ill effects of Saharan dust.
Smoke from wildfires in Siberia drifted to Alaska last year as well, according to the National Weather Service, but Alaska already had hazy skies from local wildfires.
Anchorage saw temperatures spike above 60 degrees every day in June for the first time in recorded history. The city also experienced near record low precipitation: Only 1/10 of an inch of rain fell the entire month.
The McDonald Fire has grown to over 39,000 acres west of the Tanana River, with statewide fires consuming 72,000 acres; critical fire danger and smoke advisories are in effect.
The latest update put the Swan Lake fire’s size at 23,530 acres.
“Smoke concentrations will be such that they could impact public health at times, according to an advisory issued by the state Division of Air Quality.
For the fifth consecutive year, influxes of sargassum seaweed have begun piling up on beachfronts in major tourist destinations in Belize.
This season the birch pollen has been particularly bad. Some people with asthma have had to leave the state. The peak was May 18 when pollen counts were 974 grains per cubic meter.
A haze visible through Southcentral Alaska on Wednesday was caused by smoke from fires burning in Siberia that began flowing into Alaska in early July.
A smoke respite room has been set up at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. The Chandler Room on the first floor will be open 24 hours a day until further notice.
Shishaldin Volcano also erupted last month, sending ash over the Bering Sea.
Spiking levels of birch pollen around much of the state are also being seen during an early spring in Anchorage this week, as doctors deal with an influx of allergy and asthma patients.
Exhaust emissions from a Norwegian Cruise Line vessel docking in Juneau prompted at least 10 complaints to an Alaska regulatory agency.
Air Quality will vary between Good and Unhealthy depending on wind flow and proximity to the fire.-Southcentral areas near–Willow, Wasilla, Palmer, Butte, Anchorage, and south over the Kenai Peninsula to include Cooper Landing, Kenai Keys and Skilak Lake areas.
Increasing winds may drive the air quality to become "unhealthy to hazardous," said a statement from Eileen Probasco, planning director with the Matanuska-Sustina Borough.
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