Where there鈥檚 fire, there鈥檚 smoke: Public safety lesson for Eastern US
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Sarah Matusek Staff writer
Smoke from Canadian wildfires has shrouded the New York City skyline in a Halloween haze. The bitter air has reached the Great Lakes region of the United States and the mid-Atlantic, prompting public health warnings.聽
New York City notched its worst-on-record air pollution levels, exceeding what San Francisco experienced during 2018 wildfires in California. And air was deemed 鈥渧ery unhealthy鈥� in the nation鈥檚 capital Thursday.
The severity of the smoke has startled communities living far from the fire-prone North American West, raising questions around local preparedness and safety. Here鈥檚 a look at the scope of the fires and alerts.聽
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onThe severity of Canadian wildfire smoke has startled the United States and may prompt Eastern communities to draw safety lessons from the fire-prone West.
How unusual are the Canadian fires, and what鈥檚 expected for the fire season ahead?
Wildfires can regenerate natural landscapes and are common in Canada.聽But a harsh start to the fire season has burned 9.4 million acres in recent weeks 鈥� around 15 times the 10-year average, Reuters reports.聽The sparks have come from a mix of lightning and possible human causes.
The coast-to-coast scope of the fires 鈥撀燼nd the pace of their spread 鈥� is something unusual聽since at least the 1980s, says Daniel Perrakis, a fire聽research scientist for the聽Department of Natural Resources of Canada. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way we can get enough firefighters to get around all these fires,鈥� he adds. 鈥淩ain could come next week, but it might not come for months.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing more and more of these fires because of climate change,鈥澛爐weeted聽Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday. Though individual fires are difficult to attribute directly to climate change due to their complexity, a 2022 United Nations聽report聽included it as one of multiple factors that increase wildfire risks globally.聽And much of Canada has had a warm and dry spring 鈥� a combination that becomes more likely due to warming global temperatures.聽
By contrast, the U.S. through July 鈥渆xpects a normal to below-normal fire potential in much of the Southwest, California, and Colorado due to snowpack and a wet spring,鈥澛爏ays Nick Nauslar, a predictive services meteorologist at the National Interagency Fire Center.聽The Northwest, he adds in an email, 鈥渋s likely to have above normal potential.鈥�
How are communities coping with smoke?聽
Thousands of Canadians have evacuated. The wildfires are also unsettling Americans across the U.S. Midwest and Northeast regions, prompting聽school closures and early dismissals in New Jersey and delaying flights in cities from Washington to Boston. Officials in both countries urge affected residents to stay inside and use聽N95-style masks outdoors.
As New York City air quality hit a 鈥渉azardous鈥� level Wednesday, Zach Iscol, emergency management commissioner, called for solidarity.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e young and healthy, please check in on your neighbors,鈥� he said at a press conference. 鈥淢ake sure that they have the information that they need to stay safe.鈥澛�
In Toronto,聽Samantha Green says stepping outside 鈥渟mells like we鈥檙e next to a campfire.鈥� The family physician calls wildfire smoke a 鈥渃omplex soup of air pollutants.鈥�
Speaking of high-efficiency particulate air filters, she says 鈥減eople should stay inside and ensure that indoor air is clean by closing windows and using a HEPA filter if you have one 鈥撀爋r at least ensuring that you have a good-quality filter,鈥� says Dr. Green, president-elect of the聽Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.
Experts recommend citizens check local air quality alerts for help determining daily activities, like whether to go running outside. Canadians can see their city鈥檚 status through the federal聽, while Americans can type their zip code into聽.
It could take weeks or more to douse the fires in Quebec and beyond, even with U.S. aid in the firefighting. In the meantime, shifts in wind patterns will be a factor determining air quality.
What are potential solutions for mitigating wildfire smoke?聽
Exposure to massive wildfires 鈥渦sed to be kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing,鈥� says Keith Bein, an air quality researcher at the University of California, Davis. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 happening more frequently and it鈥檚 becoming almost every season.鈥�
And region. He鈥檚 been fielding fire-related questions from friends on the East Coast. That informal knowledge-sharing speaks to lessons the rest of the country might learn from fire veterans out West.聽
Preparation and public awareness are key, say Western wildfire experts.
鈥淭he worst time to respond to a smoke event is while you鈥檙e in it,鈥� says Sarah Coefield, an air quality specialist at the Missoula City-County Health Department in Montana. Her community holds an annual Wildfire Smoke Ready Week inspired by one in Washington state.聽聽
鈥淲e try to kind of flood the airwaves during the early summer,鈥� Ms. Coefield adds. That鈥檚 when locals are 鈥渟tarting to think more about the incoming fire season 鈥� but it鈥檚 not here yet, so they have time to prepare.鈥� She also directs people to for additional preparedness tips, including how to assemble a do-it-yourself fan and filter combo.聽
Another idea in development 鈥撀爌ublic 鈥渃lean air centers鈥� for those vulnerable to smoke 鈥� resembles how 鈥渃ooling centers鈥� offer respite from extreme heat. California, through a pilot program, has begun to invest in these centers through ventilation system upgrades and purchasing portable air cleaners for buildings like libraries.
