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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
Exhaust emissions from a Norwegian Cruise Line vessel docking in Juneau prompted at least 10 complaints to an Alaska regulatory agency.
The latest update put the Swan Lake fire’s size at 23,530 acres.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The leak was detected early Friday at the drill site CD1, 8 miles north of the village of Nuiqsut. “There are no reports of injury or environmental impact to the tundra or wildlife,” the company’s statement said. “Air quality continues to be monitored and no natural gas has been detected outside of the CD1 pad.” The gas leak happened below gravel, and its cause and scale are under investigation, Conoco said. The company said it is using natural gas detection monitors at the CD1 pad, and conducting infrared surveys from the air.
Smoke from dozens of active wildfires in Southwest Alaska moved across a large portion of the state on Sunday, worsening the visibility and air quality in several regions, including around Anchorage and Southcentral. The haze in the Anchorage area was expected to ease somewhat early in the week.
Wildfires across the western United States and Canada have put millions of people under air quality alerts, as thousands of firefighters battle the flames.
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.
Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Health has advised citizens to take measures to protect themselves from the ill effects of Saharan dust.
For the fifth consecutive year, influxes of sargassum seaweed have begun piling up on beachfronts in major tourist destinations in Belize.
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