This smoke from Canadian wildfires is putting a damper on summer vacation plans in northern Minnesota with the air quality alert in place noon Monday, just extended past the original Saturday afternoon end time. The latest alert includes all of Minnesota, all of Wisconsin, all of Michigan, all of Illinois, all of Iowa, and parts of eastern Nebraska.
For people heading up north, the prospect of hiking on one of the many trails may not feel as exhilarating with smoke blocking the blue skies, the air being harder to breathe and even causing itchy eyes and coughing under the worst of circumstances.
"I'm sitting there now looking out over from a distance over the harbor and looking at the lighthouse. Well, some moments I look and I can kind of see it better than others. So it's kind of moving and changing all the time," explained Grand Marais Mayor Tracy Benson.
Mayor Benson adds that it is bad news for a place like Grand Marais, along Minnesota's north shore of Lake Superior, an area that depends so much on people wanting to be outside during the summer.
"When most of our draw here is for outdoor activity, anytime the weather is not, you know, right on track, it certainly has a lot of impact," she says. "Just like in the wintertime when we don't get the snow we anticipate."
She says it's important for visitors to pay attention to the air quality alerts and take it easy - even if the smoke is not visible.
"We realize they have big issues in Canada right now and weather does what it wants, so we can't stop that at the border," says Benson.
She adds even her own family are taking precautions. That part of Minnesota has seen the worst of the smoky conditions this week, with their air some of the worst in the world at times.
"They certainly, you know, want to close the windows and stay inside more, and be very careful with people's health issues, their young children," Mayor Benson explains. "I have young children, grandchildren in my family, and they take this very carefully and cautiously. So I think it just depends on each person's situation."
Closer to the Twin Cities, it's going to remain smoky as well says WCCO-TV Chief Meteorologist Chris Shaffer.
"We're in a very consistent pattern, which is great for the weather, but terrible with the air quality," Shaffer explains. "Yes, the smoke from the Canadian wildfires will still blanket the region. Air quality alert, that's going to hold."
Health concerns for those that are vulnerable
Dr. Christine Wendt is a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota and says their most vulnerable patients need to be careful under these conditions.
"So I think as physicians, we have to start educating them to know what the air quality is, to see if they have things in place in their living situations, their homes," says Wendt. "Do they have air conditioning? Do they have filters? Do not go outside when the air quality is this bad, you know? To do sort of protective measures for people. But it's difficult to be housebound all summer long."
Wendt adds that the fires are presenting a challenge that is very difficult to control.
"I think it's frightening," she told WCCO's Susie Jones. "When we had made really good headway when it came to air pollution, that because of the change in the climate, we're taking many steps backwards and on something that's not so easily to control. Definitely we can't regulate. I mean, we have these standards from the EPA but when fires are happening, that isn't anything that can follow these guidelines."
Air Quality Alert may end up extended into Sunday
Air quality across the state remains unhealthy for everyone according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency who have now extended that through noon on Monday. It was originally to end Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
MPCA air quality meteorologist David Brown says shifting wind directions are not helping get the smoke out of the state.
"The problem with this event is just the smoke was so widespread by the time it, you know, reached the U.S.," Brown explains. "And it's made it so far south that even though the winds are going to be switching, it's pulling up all the smoke that made it so far south."
Brown says they decided later Friday to extend the Air Quality Alert into Monday
"We were just kind of waiting on this big high pressure that's causing all the stagnation to move to the east, and the winds will become southerly after that starting tomorrow,"" says Brown. "And we just had to wait for those winds to last long enough to finally clear all the smoke out of the out of our region."
Brown says there should be some relief by Monday morning but until then, the smoke stays. This week has been extremely stagnant, causing the Twin Cities to be listed with the second worst air of any city across the globe trailing only Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"With this event we've seen levels, like fine particle levels, stay pretty consistent throughout the daytime," says Brown. "So about the same at night and during the day. It might look a little bit less hazy during the day when the sun is up high. When the sun's down low, it is a little bit more noticeable."
AIR QUALITY ALERT NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON MONDAY
* WHAT...The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an Air Quality Alert for fine particles pollution. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is expected to reach the Red or Unhealthy category.
* WHERE...West central, east central, central, south central, southwest, southeast, north central, northwest, and northeast Minnesota.
* WHEN...Until noon CDT Monday.
* IMPACTS...Some members of the general public may experience health effects. Sensitive groups, such as people with lung disease (including asthma), heart disease, and children and older adults, may experience health effects.