Wildfires expose millions in Midwest, Northeast to dangerous smoke (Oh, Canada!)

Yahoooooo News ^ | July 15, 2026 | CBS News Staff

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week, exposing millions of people to dangerous air pollution.

Minnesota officials issued an air quality alert from Tuesday through Friday for areas including the Twin Cities metro area, Alexandria and Two Harbors, with very heavy smoke expected across the state's northeastern corner as large wildfires spread. Air quality levels in Two Harbors, the Tribal Nation of Grand Portage and other regions in northeast Minnesota were expected to reach hazardous levels, making it unsafe for everyone. The wildfires in northern Minnesota prompted evacuation orders Tuesday for some residents.

Officials in Michigan and Wisconsin also warned residents about air quality issues that could last for days. The entire state of Michigan will be under an air quality alert on Wednesday due to particulate pollution from the Canadian wildfire smoke, the state's environmental agency said. High levels of fine particulate matter in the air from smoke may be unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as children and people with heart or lung conditions.

Wildfire smoke map

A large plume of smoke from the fires unexpectedly poured into the Boston area Tuesday and the skies morphed from a milky white to an ominous brown/yellow, CBS News Boston reported.

In parts of Maine, residents were reporting a yellowish and brownish color in the sky. "There is plenty of smoke upstream, so expect periods of hazy skies over the next day before the cold front pushes through," the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said on social media Tuesday.

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TOPICS: Canada; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: canada; smoke; wildfires; wisconsin

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[mowowie]

Here outside of Boston a yellowish-gray smoke filled sky...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’m in the SW corner of Wisconsin and things don’t look too bad (blue skies) but we are under alert for air quality.

I’ve got to mow today, so I’m heading out early. This past week or so has been brutal to all living things around here, though no deaths reported so far.

Our hunting cabin is in far north central Wisconsin, so Beau and his crew this week have been suffering from excessive heat, humidity, mosquitoes and smoke. Ugh!

[AZJeep]

Welcome to nature own smoke.
Northern AZ is all in smoke from Pocket fire, now finally somewhat under control.

[Steely Tom]

Gee I wonder what the CO2 percentage is in the middle of that plume, which extends almost exactly over where I live.

Every year, Canadia dumps atmospheric pollution on our country.

[butlerweave]

Part of living on planet Earth

[catnipman]

here's the domestic wildfire smoke plume map to complete the picture:

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Mother Nature...in for the WIN? ;)

[Snowybear]

The afternoon sun was red yesterday here in central MA. Looked like a blood moon.

-SB

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Last summer we had a couple of those due to the Canadian wildfires. I suspect we will again, depending upon which way the wind is blowing.

[mewzilla]

Let’s check in with horse’s mouth, shall we... :-)

https://www.airnow.gov/?

Click on the red number 1 in the upper left for info.

[woodbutcher1963]

We have it up in southern NH pretty thick.
It sure was a pretty reddish orange sunset last night.

The good thing is that it lowered the temperature yesterday by about ten degrees from what they had predicted.
Also, the smoke is up a couple thousand feet in the air. So, it is not smoky on the ground level.
However, tomorrow it is supposed to be smokey on the ground.

[left that other site]

Indeed.

I’m south of boston and i had a hard time on my walk this morning.

[woodbutcher1963]

I was in Boise two Mondays ago when the fire started in the foothills on the east side of town. It started about 1 pm.
Coming back east on the freeway the smoke was going straight up in the air thousands of feet.

Later in the day they brought in the air tankers. They were dropping fire retardant. I was in Garden City, ID and we were watching them fight the fire from twenty miles away.
Last I heard it was over 3000 acres.

I had never seen a large brush/grassland/forest fire being fought in person before. I hate to say this, but it was kind of cool to watch. Last I heard there were no buildings burned in that fire. Mostly just the sagebrush in the foothills on the NE side of the city of Boise.