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This week, I was interviewed on KPNW Radio in Eugene, Oregon. Bill Lundun had all sorts of questions for me, including what’s happening in Canada, locals fighting fire, and Ego in fire.
I am grateful to Bill for allowing me to speak on the Tim Hart Act and the Fiscal Pay Cliff just weeks away.
Air quality alerts were in effect for more than a dozen states on Thursday as wildfire smoke from Canada continued to turn skies hazy in the Midwest and Northeast.
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather digital journalist Jun. 29, 2023, 1:08 PM PDT
Summer camps in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have decided to close due to the poor air quality. As smoke from the Canadian wildfires continues to create “very unhealthy” air quality levels, the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh announced on Thursday that it is canceling its three-day camp and closing all of its swimming pools, WTAE reported. The non-profit organization said it originally brought the summer camp program inside on Wednesday. But, as conditions continued to deteriorate on Thursday, the YMCA decided to cancel the camp, noting that young kids are among those most impacted by the poor air quality.
In Ohio, organizers of the Cincinnati Parks summer camps also followed suit and canceled, according to WKRC. “We have never had to cancel camp due to poor air quality, but we feel this is the best way to protect our staff and campers,” organizers wrote in a note to parents on Thursday. WKRC said the camp will resume on Friday if air quality levels improve. Additionally, Moshava Ba’Ir day camp in Cleveland was canceled on Thursday due to the smoke-filled air, according to WOIO.
New York City pools could close if air quality drops to dangerous levels
New York City’s outdoor public pools are set to open for the season on Thursday, but an ongoing lifeguard shortage and now unhealthy air quality levels might limit how long they will stay open. As of last week, the city had only hired 500 lifeguards, which is roughly 900 short of what is needed, according to ABC7. As people head to the pools this weekend, smoke from the wildfires in Canada will create unhealthy conditions, especially for sensitive groups. The New York City Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue told ABC7 that she was not ruling out closing the public pools if the air quality gets to a dangerous level.
Steering winds to continue shifts in air quality into the weekend
Much of the Midwest has been shrouded in a dim haze this week as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted across the country. Fluctuating steering winds have caused the smoke to descend to ground level and rise to higher levels in the past few weeks. Smoke from the wildfires has drifted as far as Western Europe in recent days. Because of the steering winds, it’s likely fluctuations in air quality will continue into the weekend and potentially even through Independence Day in the Midwest and Northeast.
These satellite images from June 6, from top left, June 7, June 25, and June 27, 2023, show the wind movement from wildfire smoke in Quebec, Canada. Heavy smoke from wildfires in Canada has blanketed parts of the Midwest, causing hazardous air for residents, just weeks after drifting smoke did the same thing along parts of the East Coast. (NASA Worldview, (EOSDIS) via AP)
Wildfire smoke creates dangerous air quality in major US cities (again)
More than 120 million residents are under an air quality alert as wildfire smoke spreads across the Midwest and East Coast. This is the third straight day that some cities, such as Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee, have been under an air quality alert. As of Thursday morning, some of the worst air quality, which is considered “very unhealthy,” was located over Chicago, Detroit, Columbus and Pittsburgh. Localized showers and thunderstorms across the Great Lakes will help improve the air quality, AccuWeather meteorologists say, but smoke is expected to stick around through the holiday weekend in some areas.
Pennsylvanians wake up to smoke-filled skies
Residents across Pennsylvania woke up to hazy skies on Thursday morning. One Pittsburgh resident shared a photo on Twitter of the smoke-filled skies on Thursday morning. The visibility was less than 2 miles in the city due to the amount of smoke in the air, according to the National Weather Service. Air quality in Pittsburgh was at “very unhealthy” levels on Thursday morning, with an AQI of 233. In Port Matilda, which is located just outside of State College in central Pennsylvania, residents were taken aback by the amount of smoke in the sky.
Smoke-filled skies could be seen as the sun rose in Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, June 29, 2023. (AccuWeather)
One photo showed the smoky haze encasing the sun and reducing visibility. Much like Pittsburgh, air quality in Port Matilda was at “very unhealthy” levels, with an AQI of 168. Farther east, smoke-filled skies were reported in Philadelphia. NBC10 Philadelphia shared a photo of what was supposed to be the city, but the smoke made visibility poor. According to the NWS, the visibility in the city was 5 miles. Air quality in Philadelphia was at “unhealthy” levels, with an AQI of 141.
Plus:
Hazy skies as sun rises in New York City
‘Very unhealthy’ air quality reported in the mid-Atlantic
Firefighters from France continue battling Canadian wildfire blaze from early June
Canadian wildfire smoke reaches Spain
Do houseplants improve your home's air quality?
"Very unhealthy" air quality impacts Kentucky
The AccuWeather Air Quality Index broken down
More than 19 million acres burned in Canadian wildfires so far this year
Sold-out Robert Plant-Alison Krauss concert canceled in Ohio
Smoky skies lower visibility in Tennessee
Plume Labs’ air quality prediction for New York City
Washington, D.C., under Code Red for Thursday
Pittsburgh Pirates set to play amid ‘very unhealthy’ air quality
Over 80 million under air quality alerts due to wildfire smoke
Ect...Ect
https://twitter.com/HotshotWakeUNDERWOOD, Wash. — A fast-moving wildfire burning in Skamania County, Washington has forced Level 3 “GO NOW” evacuations for everyone living within a two-mile radius of the blaze, state fire officials said.
The Tunnel Five Fire is an estimated 546 acres and is 5% contained as of Monday evening.
Officials say that 10 residences have been destroyed, and 250 remain threatened.
The Fire broke out at about 11:20 a.m. Sunday along SR-14 near milepost 61, by the community of Underwood.
Skamania and the surrounding counties are all under a Red Flag Warning through Wednesday for “very dry and significantly unstable conditions for fire weather.”
LATEST FORECAST | WESTERN WILDFIRE NEWS
Several structures have been destroyed by the flames, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said. They issued a Level 3 “GO NOW” evacuation for people within two miles of the fire. (REGISTER FOR EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS ONLINE)
The Red Cross is offering shelter to evacuees at the Skamania County Fairgrounds.
SR-14 remains closed between mile markers 53 and 63.
Firefighters battled the blaze from the air and ground Sunday, and their efforts are expected to continue Monday.
More crews are being sent from around the state to help fight the fire.
Washington: Take a ride over the Tunnel 5 Fire. A Type 2 incident Management Team assumed command last night. #wildfire #wafire #wawx #tunnel5fireIt’s estimated that 10+ structures have been lost. The fire is still officially under investigation however, every local I’ve talked to adamantly claims the railroad caused the fire. The fire has cost over $1.5M so far. Thanks to Jack for sharing this footage. Cheers brother.
More than 4,000 people have been evacuated from properties on the Canary island of La Palma after a forest fire swept through the north-west of the island, as Europe continues to experience extreme temperatures in the Cerberus heatwave.
The regional government on Sunday it had put neighbouring islands including Tenerife and Gran Granaria on official alert for risk of forest fires, with 4,500 hectares of land and a dozen homes already destroyed in Palma.
“The fire advanced very quickly,” said Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Canary Islands regional government. He blamed “the wind, the climate conditions as well as the heatwave that we are living through” for the swift spread of the blaze.
Smoke billows from the town of Los Llanos de Aridane during a forest fire in Punta Gorda, La Palma, on Saturday. Photograph: Luis G Morera/EPA
Southern Europe is facing another week of high temperatures in a second deadly heatwave, called Charon after the Greek mythological boatman who ferries souls to the underworld.
More than 15 Italian cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence have been put on alert, with temperatures expected to rise to 43C in Rome and up to 47C in Sardinia on Tuesday.
In Greece, the Acropolis has been closed temporarily between 11.30am and 5.30pm to protect tourists from dangerous temperatures, risk of dehydration and sunstroke.
The European Space Agency said the highest recorded temperature in European history – 48.8C in Floridia, Sicily, on 11 August 2021 – could be beaten this week.
It said land surface temperature – how hot the ground is to touch – hit more than 50C on eastern slopes of Sicily last week, 45C in Rome and Naples and 46C and 47C in Madrid and Seville.
The extreme temperatures in Europe follow record-breaking global temperatures in June and early July. According to a report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, June 2023 was just over 0.5C above the 1991-2020 average, with unprecedented sea temperatures and record-low Antarctic sea ice.
Last Monday, the World Meteorological Organization said the planet had had its hottest few days on record in the first few days of July.
Morocco was slated for above-average temperatures this weekend with highs of 47C in some provinces – more typical of August than July – sparking concerns over water shortages, the meteorological service said.
“It is quite devastating,” he said. “We have approximately 95 per cent of the community evacuated or under alert right now. So, we have many, many people out of their homes,” he added.
A scene of chaos in Rhodes, Greece. Crowds of hundreds of tourists and residents evacuate by road to get away from the out-of-control fires ravaging the island.
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More images of the fires raging on the island of Rhodes in Greece #Ροδος
We have a fire almost a week now here in Rhodos, burning everything in its path. This Greek island is a big forest and they failed to control the fire 5 days now. The fire was far away from me and i had no reasons to worry about, but after all these days the fire is still burning the Island and now is 10kh away from me,they evacuated a lot of villages and everyone is just hoping for a miracle. Seems like the government cant do anything about it and they just waiting for the fire to burn everything to stop or head to the sea. Thats the reality here in Greece, if you dont protect your family nobody will. Stay safe everybody!!
The fire entered the village of Laerma .
22:40, 22/7/2023
Now Laerma Rhodes....
There is no more meaningful description, see for yourself...
Everything is burning!
#Rhodes, #Laerma area. The fire is burning everything. People are rushing to get some water to cope with the conditions.
Strange things, forest areas that are being burnt to ashes in Rhodes (Elaeousa, Laerma, Lardos) just by chance have about a dozen wind farms under design, licensing or implementation.
#Algeria is also on fire Fire burns in Zbarbar mountains and is approaching homes.
Forest fire consumes structures and forces evacuations near the Kefrida Waterfalls in #Algeria.
#Canada Authorities issued evacuation orders Saturday night for 732 properties in and around Osoyoos, BC's southern interior due to an out-of-control fire that crossed the Canada-U.S. border #wildfire
The inferno continues in #Lahaina, #Hawaii Images of the destruction on Front Street, a historic site in West Maui, where most businesses and structures are burning.
Death toll rises to 55 after raging fire in #Lahaina #Maui #Hawaii
Heartbreaking images of people forced to jump into the ocean to escape the flames in #LahainaFires.
Credits ChefJoshuaMarten
More than 1,500 buildings destroyed. The highest death toll in a disaster on the island since 1960.
Crews were called to 35 Vulcan Street, near the intersection of Martin Grove and Belfield roads, at approximately 1:15 a.m.. The building appears to belong to a chemical distributor. First responders say the fire initially broke out in adjacent tractor trailers before the building itself caught fire. Officials say the fire was caused by an initial explosion, but it is not yet clear what exploded. Toronto Fire was largely concerned with containing the fire due to a high number of combustibles on site, including "thousands of litres of lubricants" and a neighbouring lumberyard.