Wildfire smoke makes air unhealthy from the US Midwest to East Coast.
Officials say stay inside
[July 17, 2026]
By TAMMY WEBBER and PHILIP MARCELO
NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy, pungent wildfire smoke darkened skies in the U.S.
on Thursday from the Great Lakes to parts of the East Coast, reducing
visibility and prompting warnings that breathing the air outside could
be dangerous.
Officials in many cities urged residents to stay inside or wear masks
outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning
it's unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. The smoke is
coming from fires that are burning primarily in Canada but also in
northern Minnesota. A lingering high pressure system has trapped the
smoke close to the ground, said Steven Freitag, a National Weather
Service meteorologist in Detroit, where air quality was among the worst
in the world for major cities.
“Sure enough, it arrived in force here and it’s really pretty extreme
levels,” said Freitag, who noted that visibility in some areas was
reduced to a half mile.
“It’s scary,” Omar Mitchell, 50, said as he looked to the sky. He wore a
mask while walking to his restaurant in Detroit. “You don’t know
necessarily what the side effects may be. That’s days or months later.”
Microscopic particles can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the
bloodstream, leading to heart and lung problems and contributing to
other long-term health issues.
The air stinks and the sky glows yellow in some places
All of Michigan and much of Minnesota were under a hazardous air quality
alert. In the Chicago area, air quality ranged from very unhealthy to
hazardous.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr said even if winds from
the northwest clear skies as expected later this week, the smoky air
could keep returning until the fires are out. That could take months,
until it snows in Canada and northern Minnesota, officials have said.
Bill Ostrowski, 76, wore a mask as he walked through downtown Chicago,
where wildfire smoke shrouded skyscrapers. “It stinks. It’s not a good
sign when you wake up in the morning and you can smell the air,” said
Ostrowski.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, the sky was “glowing yellow,” said Brent
Williams, head of the soil, water and climate department at the
University of Minnesota. The area “could be looking at weeks to months
of continued smoke and flare-ups off and on as the winds blow in
different directions,” he said.
A study published this year found that long-term exposure to tiny
particles from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths
a year in the lower 48 states. Long-term exposure can make existing
health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly issues,
including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases,
and premature death.
New York City cancels activities and hands out masks
In the New York City area, a thick haze tinged the morning sky orange
and yellow and partly obscured Manhattan’s skyline.
City officials opened cooling centers as health officials urged New
Yorkers to limit strenuous and prolonged outdoor activities. The city’s
schools, parks and other agencies moved activities indoors, rescheduled
events and adjusted operations. State officials distributed tens of
thousands of face masks at transit hubs and other major locations.
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A pedestrian crosses the street as the Detroit city skyline is
obscured during poor air quality due to smoke from Canadian
wildfires Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Gwen Moseley, 65, was among the first patrons at Rosedale Library in
Queens to take advantage of the free masks, saying she’s on the road
much of the day working as a therapist for children with autism.
“Who wants to be breathing this? It’s not healthy,” Moseley said as she
waited to meet a young client. “When I’m out walking, I can feel the
scratchiness in my throat.”
Smoke eased a bit but was expected to thicken again by late afternoon or
evening, possibly lasting overnight, weather service meteorologist
Maureen Hastings said. She said it might move south for a while on
Friday but return at night.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation warned that there was
a potential for temporary spikes of “very unhealthy” air quality from
Buffalo in the state's western corner to Rochester by Lake Ontario,
Syracuse in the central region and down to the greater New York City
area.
Philadelphia officials urged people to avoid strenuous activity and stay
inside or wear N95 or KN95 masks outside.
“Today is not the day to start your marathon training plan,” said Dr.
Palak Raval-Nelson, the city's public health commissioner.
Minnesota fires are spreading
In Minnesota, forest rangers on Thursday combed a remote wilderness area
for anyone who might still be there days after wildfires led to its
closure.
Officials closed the Boundary Waters along the U.S.-Canada border on
Tuesday. At the time, 6,000 to 10,000 people were inside, but Superior
National Forest staff estimated Wednesday that they’d reached 90% of
them, said Karen Harrison, a spokesperson for state and federal agencies
involved in the response.
She said Thursday that smoke is making it difficult for helicopters to
fly and that fires are spreading despite firefighting efforts.
“There will be fire on the landscape until fall, and some fire will be
burning until snow cover,” Harrison said.
The Royal Canadian Air Force successfully evacuated 11 Minnesota
teenagers and four staff members Wednesday from wildfires in an Ontario
provincial park about 175 miles (282 kilometers) north of the Minnesota
border.
___
Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan. Associated Press reporters Ed
White in Detroit, Jacqueline GaNun in Lansing, Michigan, and Cybele
Mayes-Osterman in Chicago contributed to this report.
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