Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources say unhealthy air triggered by Canadian wildfires will spread across more of the state on Tuesday.
DNR issued a special air quality notice on Tuesday morning for portions of Wisconsin.
They said the smoke from hundreds of wildfires in Canada, which has been over the state for several days, is now being brought down closer to the surface. This is because cold fronts like the one that passed through overnight typically make the air behind them descend.
Stay informed on the latest news
Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.
Gail Good is air monitoring section chief for the DNR.
“We issued (the notice) statewide because we’re seeing elevated levels of fine particles around the state,” she said. “We want the public to be aware of the situation.”
The high amounts of fine particles in the smoke have made the air quality potentially unhealthy for sensitive groups at several monitoring sites across northern and west-central counties. Those affected include children, the elderly and those with respiratory and cardiac problems.
DNR officials said the width and density of the smoke plume will vary.
The forecast is for the smoke to move toward the southeast across the state on Tuesday.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
