Overview

• The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has extended a statewide air quality alert through Monday morning as Canadian wildfire plumes push northern regions into very unhealthy purple AQI levels and central and southern areas into red and orange categories.
• A broader second wave of smoke moved into northwest Minnesota late Friday, but National Weather Service models predict gradual improvements beginning Sunday afternoon as winds turn coastal.
• The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Spare the Air alert expired Friday after two days of smoky conditions from the Green and Butler fires, and most PM2.5 readings remained below unhealthy thresholds for the general public.
• Fires near Shasta Lake and in the northern Sacramento Valley have driven up fine particulate concentrations, prompting health officials to urge residents to keep windows closed and limit outdoor exertion.
• Clean-air centers, the EPA’s Fire and Smoke Map, N95 masks and reduced outdoor burning and vehicle idling are recommended to help mitigate the smoke’s health risks.