Canadian Wildfire Smoke Reaches Northern US

Facts

• Smoke from more than 100 active wildfires burning in Canada has drifted across the border into the US, triggering air quality alerts and warnings in several states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin.¹
• On Monday, the air quality index in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota showed conditions ranging from 'moderate' to 'unhealthy.'²
• The air quality alert remained in place until 11 p.m. local time in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities. Previously, the alert included the entire state; however, it was canceled after conditions improved in the north.³
• The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency warned residents that fine particle levels in the air could reach 'a level considered unhealthy for everyone, across all of Minnesota.'⁴
• According to the Canadian Natural Resources Department, as of Tuesday, there are 39 out-of-control and 89 controlled wildfires in Canada, with most of the blazes burning in northern Alberta and northeast British Columbia.⁵

Sources: ¹ABC News, ²NBC, ³CBS, ⁴New York Times and ⁵Cwfis.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Worldweatherattribution. Human-induced climate change is causing scorching and dry weather that exacerbates the vulnerabilities and severity of fire seasons in North America. Lawmakers need to take urgent action to combat the worsening of climate change so that extreme weather events like this one don't become increasingly destructive and deadly.
• Narrative B, as provided by Mackinac Center. It's a cop-out to blame destructive wildfires solely on climate change. A lack of fuel management and proper forestry practices are leading to massive fires in Canada, not climate change. Environmentalist propaganda has led to this issue of improperly managed forests, which are much more dangerous and destructive than responsible forestry and stewardship.

Predictions