Canada wildfire

Smoke from wildfires turned the skies orange behind New York's Chrysler Building in June 2023. The smoke affected millions across the central and eastern U.S.

Wildfire smoke this year woke up places unaccustomed to its effects. Now what?

5:55pm December 29, 2023

by Alejandra Borunda

Wildfires worsened by climate change spewed smoke over much of North America this year. It's a new reality Americans haven't yet processed: how dangerous the smoke is for human health.

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Wildfires outside of Yellowknife, the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, as seen from space on Tuesday. As of Thursday the fires are less than 10 miles outside of the city.

Out-of-control wildfires in Canada force all 20,000 residents of Yellowknife to flee

3:52pm August 17, 2023

by Dustin Jones

More than 230 active wildfires are burning in Canada's Northwest Territories, including one outside the capital of Yellowknife, forcing 20,000 residents to flee.

Canada's smoke blanketed the Midwest less than three weeks ago.

Minnesota and Wisconsin issue air quality alerts amid a new round of Canada smoke

12:31pm July 15, 2023

by Juliana Kim

Parts of the Midwest are seeing unhealthy air quality this weekend, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana and the Dakotas. It can be most dangerous for kids, older people and other sensitive groups.

Poor air quality triggered orange, red and purple alerts over a large chunk of the U.S. on Thursday, as seen in this map published by the federal air quality site AirNow at 7 a.m. ET.

A big swath of the U.S. is under red and purple air quality alerts from Canada's smoke

3:04pm June 29, 2023

by Bill Chappell

In Madison, Wis., the air quality was measured at 242 Thursday morning— a "very unhealthy" purple alert rating that many other communities shared, particularly in the Midwest.

Haze from Canadian wildfires blankets the Chicago skyline as seen from the city's South Loop neighborhood on Wednesday.

Air quality plummets as Canadian wildfire smoke stretches across the Midwest

1:01pm June 28, 2023

Chicago saw its air quality plummet, while other cities including Detroit, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh were experiencing unhealthy air quality levels.

Christina Lamoureux and her fiancé, Brian Fritzsche, have been planning their wedding since January 2021. Now they may have to scramble to avoid the wildfire smoke from Canada that's drifted into the U.S. across the Northeast and Midwest.

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Blankets of orange haze may be unwelcomed guests at weddings this weekend in the U.S.

1:26pm June 09, 2023

by Vanessa Romo

Christina Lamoureux planned a perfect wedding. Now she is among the unlucky set of soon-to-be married couples frantically making contingency plans as clouds of polluted air linger over their nuptials.

Gustavo Ajche snapped a selfie on the street while making his rounds on Wednesday.

Spare a thought for Gustavo, the guy delivering your ramen in the wildfire smoke

5:09pm June 08, 2023

by Manuela López Restrepo

As most New Yorkers isolated inside this week to avoid the hazardous smoke that enveloped the city, one man was rushing ramen across town for a customer's dinner.

A spectrum of colors: green, yellow, orange, red, purple, maroon.

Purple is the new red: How alert maps show when we are royally ... hued

3:58pm June 08, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

Everyone knows that red means danger, but how did purple become a cautionary color? At an EPA conference in the late 1990s, attendees nearly came to blows over color coding on the Air Quality Index.

A person cycles past the skyline in Philadelphia shrouded in haze on Thursday.

When will air quality improve? A lot is riding on the wind

3:09pm June 08, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Millions of Americans are under air quality alerts as wildfires burn in Canada. Experts say the weather pattern could change by early next week, and stress the need to take precautions until then.

A man stands before the smoky New York City skyline and East River in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

A haze is blanketing major swaths of the East Coast because of the Canadian wildfires

5:48pm June 07, 2023

by Joe Hernandez

Some of the worst air quality was recorded in the Great Lakes region and in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and the Washington, D.C., metro area.