More than 800 wildfires are burning across Canada, sending thick smoke across the border into the United States and triggering hazardous air quality alerts in several northern states.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, there are currently 857 active wildfires, including 23 new fires reported on Thursday. Most of the fires remain out of control, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System.
The smoke has prompted air quality alerts across the Upper Midwest, the Great Lakes region and parts of the northeastern United States.
The US Air Quality Index has classified air quality in parts of Michigan and Minnesota as “hazardous,” with health officials advising residents to remain indoors and limit outdoor activities.
Smoke spreads across Canada and the US
A large concentration of wildfires in northwestern Ontario is producing dense smoke that has affected communities including Thunder Bay and Toronto.
Lighter smoke has also drifted over the Great Lakes and parts of New York, creating hazy skies and producing unusually red sunrises and sunsets.
Forecasters expect thunderstorms across Ontario in the coming days, but the rainfall is unlikely to significantly slow the spread of the fires.
Northwesterly winds are expected to continue pushing smoke into northern US states through the weekend.
Meteorologists are also monitoring the possibility that smoke could reach New Jersey, where the FIFA World Cup final is scheduled to take place on Sunday.
A shift in wind direction early next week is expected to move much of the smoke toward Quebec, improving air quality across the northern United States.
Detroit records world’s worst air quality
Swiss air quality monitoring company IQAir reported that Detroit currently has the worst air quality in the world.
Minneapolis ranked second, followed by Toronto, as smoke from the Canadian wildfires continued to spread across the region.
The ongoing smoke has renewed concerns among some US lawmakers.
Four Republican members of Michigan’s House of Representatives sent an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, calling for stronger wildfire management after repeated smoke events over the past three years.
“A year has passed, the season has come around again, and nothing has changed except that our patience has run out,” the lawmakers wrote.
US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra praised the cooperation between both countries in responding to the crisis.
“This challenge knows no borders. The United States will continue to coordinate closely with Canada, just as we have for more than four decades of shared wildfire emergencies,” he said.
Communities evacuated as fires spread
The wildfires have forced hundreds of residents from First Nations communities in northern Ontario to evacuate.
Some residents fled by boat as flames approached their communities.
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige said homes and other buildings had suffered extensive damage.
Meanwhile, a dramatic video released on Wednesday showed a freight train surrounded by wildfire flames in Ontario while crew members requested emergency assistance.
Canadian National Rail later confirmed that all workers trapped near Armstrong were safely rescued and that rail operations in the affected area have been temporarily suspended.
Authorities continue to monitor the fires as emergency crews battle hundreds of active blazes and changing weather conditions across Canada.
