Wildfires in Canada!

[Glenn MacGrady]

At the supermarket today in NW Connecticut, people were talking about how the sky is in hazes from the blazes in Canada. I read that an area twice the size of Connecticut has already burned in 2023. This affects not only canoeing but breathing and life itself.

We have so many northern members. What is the situation where you are?

 

[Keeled Over]

I'm not up north, but many school activities in the Rochester NY area were cancelled today due to the fires. The smoke itself is pretty thin, but the smell of burning wood is very persistent here.

 

[Mason]

Ironically, Montana is clear. Where I'm headed in Nunavut/NWT has been getting inundated with smoke. Here's an excellent website with realtime smoke I've been monitoring: Smoke Map

 

[Odyssey]

We flew in to Toronto Monday afternoon to what we assumed was just another smoggy city sky in this part of the world.

Smoke Forecast - FireSmoke.ca

 

[Mason]

We flew in to Toronto Monday afternoon to what we assumed was just another smoggy city sky in this part of the world.

Smoke Forecast - FireSmoke.ca

I like your site better!

 

[Traveler]

I’m in the Ottawa area. Very hazy and smoke-smelling air over the past 2 days. Today the official air quality index was at 10 (the highest/worst it goes). Unofficially, I read that the people who monitor this stuff say it hit 14 for part of the day. Apparently we had the worst air quality of larger cities in the world today. If you have ever been to Beijing or Delhi in the summertime, that is saying something.

 

[Boatman53]

Mid coast Maine we have red sunrises and sunsets. Don’t actually smell smoke however. I think we are impacted by fires in New Brunswick.
Jim

 

[stripperguy]

Capital District in upstate NY, stone's throw from Albany.
We've had dark skies, smoke smell all day, and an eerie orange sun for some of the day too.
Driving down the road, the strange sunlight is reflected off of car windows and looks just like car dome lights left on.
I can't even imagine how it must at the fires...

 

[TrailBlaser]

Just read on the NPR site there are over 400 wildfires in Canada now. Many are out of control. If I recall correctly, 8 million acres have burned. Canadian authorities say it will get worse this summer.

 

[Sdrew22]

Very bad in Syracuse. Visibility is limited. Very strange and ominous.

 

[yknpdlr]

Western edge of the Adirondacks, eerie yellow tint to everything, gray sky, no sun. Had to turn lights on in the house to read near a window. Almost looks like the strange dim light when under the partial phase of a solar eclipse.

When my son was stationed in Korea he said they often got a thick unbreathable "yellow smog" blowing in from China. Looked much the same. Couple of small thunder storms and some rain moving through this afternoon did nothing to clear things out.

 

[Penns Woods]

Smokey haze has reached here in Northern Pennsylvania. People with breathing problems are suggested to stay indoors.

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

I'm not up north, but many school activities in the Rochester NY area were cancelled today due to the fires. The smoke itself is pretty thin, but the smell of burning wood is very persistent here.

Same here - near the Syracuse area

 

[Roybrew]

Looking a little west of North, Hazier here in north East TN. Been like this past few days. I can normally see some bare cliffs near the top. The rising sun this morning was a dark orange. I leave work just before sun rise every morning, so this color was a bit off. The fires in Canada are the only thing I can think of causing this.

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

I’m in the Ottawa area. Very hazy and smoke-smelling air over the past 2 days. Today the official air quality index was at 10 (the highest/worst it goes). Unofficially, I read that the people who monitor this stuff say it hit 14 for part of the day. Apparently we had the worst air quality of larger cities in the world today. If you have ever been to Beijing or Delhi in the summertime, that is saying something.

Sorry to hear… I saw that index… best wishes

 

[scratchypants]

Yellow sky and stinky - just north of the border from Malone. I've been enjoying the cool nights with my bedroom windows open, but this morning I woke up with a sore throat.

 

[Gerald]

Just heard tonight that the town of Chibougamou in the Lac Mistassini area is being evacuated. In Quebec canoe country things are pretty bad. Anyone coming our way our a trip should check with local authorities before leaving.

Gerald

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Chibougamou

Out of curiosity I Googled this town, and noticed that Google Maps is populated with wildfire symbols in Canada that they apparently are updating to be current.

 

[memaquay]

This is a yearly event for us in Northern Ontario. Nothing so far though in the immediate area, and the air is clear. However, predictions are for a very hot dry summer, and we have been under a total fire ban for a couple of weeks.

 

[Tsuga8]

Weds morning in the Hudson Valley, NY.

Out of curiosity I Googled this town, and noticed that Google Maps is populated with wildfire symbols in Canada that they apparently are updating to be current.

They've been doing that for a while, at least every time fires hit national headlines and I look at Google Maps. I think they do it whenever there are dangerous fires, not really sure how often. A bit of good to go with the bad and the ugly of an all-knowing tech giant.

What struck me is that while I was trying to search for smoke maps, a suggestion for a related search was 'what states are on fire right now'. New normal indeed.