Overview

• Over 200 wildfires burn across Canada, with more than 100 classified as out of control and over 4.7 million acres scorched since May, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
• The blazes have displaced over 27,000 residents in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta under evacuation orders as crews work to contain the fires.
• Thick smoke has triggered air quality alerts from the Upper Midwest—where some areas reached “very unhealthy” to “hazardous” levels—through Michigan and into parts of the Northeast and Great Plains.
• The U.S. EPA and state health agencies warn that fine particulate matter can exacerbate asthma, COPD and cardiovascular conditions, recommending N95 masks and indoor air filtration.
• High-altitude smoke plumes have crossed the Atlantic to Europe, where hazy skies and orange-tinged sunsets are expected without major ground-level pollution.