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Haze shrouds patches of U.S. as smoke from Canada fires drifts east

A woman crosses a street as smoke from the Canadian wildfires renders the cityscape amorphous in Washington, D.C. (Bill O
A woman crosses a street as smoke from the Canadian wildfires renders the cityscape amorphous in Washington, D.C. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
By Ian Livingston and Victoria Bisset Washington Post

Thick haze and dangerously poor air quality were sweeping over the Midwestern and Eastern U.S. on Thursday, forcing cities from Milwaukee to Pittsburgh to endure Code Purple conditions that present health hazards to anyone venturing outside.

Pittsburgh, parts of Michigan and other Midwestern spots had dangerous air Thursday morning, registering in the “very unhealthy” purple zone of the U.S. Air Quality Index.

Other areas hitting “very unhealthy” levels included Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michgan; Toledo and Canton, Ohio; and Dane, Columbia, Sauk and Grant counties in Wisconsin, according to the Air Quality Index.

“Air quality has not improved this morning,” the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department in Ohio said on Twitter.

Michigan and Pennsylvania were under statewide air quality advisories. In Ingham County, Michigan, home to Lansing, health officials set up an air-quality help hotline. The Madison, Wisconsin-area public health department was offering free masks.

Code Red air quality spread across the D.C. area Thursday for the second time this month. Unlike the first event in early June, which occurred toward the end of the school year, the latest episode coincides with summer camps now underway.

“It’s such a challenge because so much of camp is about the outdoors and getting kids outside,” said Drew Mackay, director of the summer program at Beauvoir, an elementary school at Washington National Cathedral. “Our priority is to keep the campers and our staff safe.”

Mackay said that on Code Red days, campers are limited to no more than 10 minutes outside at a time and outdoor swimming is canceled.

The YMCA Fairfax County Reston in Virginia is keeping its campers inside, too. The pool there is indoors, so swimming can take place as usual. But a planned outdoor field trip for the travel camp was changed to an indoor destination, said Ben Runyon, senior program director at YMCA Fairfax County Reston.

Beauvoir has previously dealt with Code Orange days, which are one level better than Code Red, but still considered unhealthy for children. On those days campers are limited to 15- to 20-minute stretches outside, but outdoor swimming is allowed, Mackay said.

But Mackay said couldn’t remember a Code Red situation affecting camp in the past.

“This seems new and I’m afraid it might become the new normal,” Mackay said.

The ongoing smoke episode should last into early Friday. Smoke from fires over western Quebec is being swirled south by counterclockwise-spinning low pressure exiting into eastern Canada. As it pulls away, northerly winds on the backside are circulating the smoke south.

The smoke will last until the northerly or northwesterly wind is replaced by a cleaner southerly or southwesterly flow. That will happen by the weekend as high pressure sneaks in from the Lower Mississippi Valley. While it will clear the smoke, it will also spell a dramatic uptick in humidity, as well as daily thunderstorm chances.