Forest Fires in Quebec affecting Upper Canada and East US, a bit in Michigan!

**Gistok** · June-06-23, 06:26 PM

A good friend of mine in Ottawa Canada was telling me she had to stay indoors because the air quality there from raging forest fires in Quebec makes the air quality there worse than New Delhi India...

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/n...-of-fire-smoke

That smoke is drifting southward towards the East coast USA...

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/envi...lity-rcna87732

From this Canadian map... the smoke [[in much lesser quantities) is even coming to Detroit, see map...

**Gistok** · June-06-23, 07:01 PM

Just found out that there is/was a fire in the Grayling area of the north-central lower peninsula, that may be affecting the air here in metro Detroit?

**Jimaz** · June-06-23, 07:15 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Just found out that there is/was a fire in the Grayling area of the north-central lower peninsula, that may be affecting the air here in metro Detroit?

DNR: Wildfire in Northern Michigan is 100% contained, but fire risk remains 'extreme' across the state

The wildfire that scorched Northern Michigan over the weekend is now 100% contained, officials with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday.

Local roads are reopening, but DNR officials are still asking people to avoid the area in Crawford County’s Grayling Township as fire crews finish their work. Officials said fire crews continued putting out hot spots within the burn area Tuesday....

**Danny** · June-06-23, 09:13 PM

Now we're California.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · June-06-23, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by Danny

Now we're California.

Parts of California actually had rain today. June is definitely NOT the rainy season. And temperatures are below normal here in Palm Springs.

**canuck** · June-06-23, 11:48 PM

The skies were a warm grey here in Montreal today and apparently the situation was worse in New York City. A hundred fifty forest fires raging in Quebec with three towns and parts of cities evacuated. The govt had to call for international help, France sent a hundred specialists and in the rest of Canada, hundreds of firefighters came in from the US, and as far away as Australia, NZ and South Africa. Quebec’s fifteen water bombers aren’t enough.

**Richard** · June-07-23, 01:04 AM

Outside of the smoke it is actually better for the forest to burn and makes for a better eco system afterwards.

They used to do controlled burns in order to mitigate the effects of an out of control forest fire,most places stopped doing it in order to save the trees.

Much better to save the trees at the cost of human lives and millions in resources,and the tree ends up burning to the ground in the end anyways.

I watched a program where they found evidence of the earliest Indians in California used to burn the forests in order to rejuvenate them.

They are saying the Canada fire was started by somebody on private land that had a fire get out of control.

**Gistok** · June-07-23, 05:12 AM

Yes... the Quebec fires are now really effecting Michigan as well...

https://news.yahoo.com/hazardous-air...l?guccounter=1

**canuck** · June-07-23, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

Outside of the smoke it is actually better for the forest to burn and makes for a better eco system afterwards.

They used to do controlled burns in order to mitigate the effects of an out of control forest fire,most places stopped doing it in order to save the trees.

Much better to save the trees at the cost of human lives and millions in resources,and the tree ends up burning to the ground in the end anyways.

I watched a program where they found evidence of the earliest Indians in California used to burn the forests in order to rejuvenate them.

They are saying the Canada fire was started by somebody on private land that had a fire get out of control.

There are something like 500 forest fires burning in Canada right now. A hundred fifty in Quebec alone.

They do fight fires with control fires, they never stopped doing it, at least not here. The firefighters here can only fight 30 fires at any time. The territory is too vast to make a more elaborate fight. They concentrate on protecting towns and cities, infrastructure, and then do what they can to contain the other fires.

They used to burn forests to help create farmland, etc… much like is done in modern Brazil, that has stopped, of course. Blueberries are plentiful a year after a boreal forest fire.

So far in Quebec, 300,000 hectares [[or football fields) have gone up in smoke…

**401don** · June-07-23, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

They are saying the Canada fire was started by somebody on private land that had a fire get out of control.

You make it sound like one fire. There are hundreds of separate fires burning in B.C. Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Tell the hundreds who have lost their homes and the thousands displaced that this many fires all at once is a good thing.

**MikeM** · June-07-23, 07:41 AM

Yesterday evening, a plume of thick smoke came through the eastside, prompting dozens of calls to the local police. Grosse Pointe had police and fire engines roaming the city looking for the source before it finally dissipated after about a half hour.

**Jimaz** · June-07-23, 08:07 AM

Here's a really nice detailed animation map of the smoke.

Click "Surface Smoke" on the left {the slider there can be used to fade the smoke image} then click the play button in the lower left.

NOAA - GSL Data Visualization

**Lowell** · June-07-23, 08:23 AM

Air quality index currently at 171 [Unhealthy] in Detroit. I can smell it. Supposed to drift off later today. It diminishes going west in Michigan. Just checking now Ann Arbor is at 151, Grand Rapids is at 88, and Chicago 55.

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**Jimaz** · June-07-23, 08:34 AM

Here's a relatively easy-to-make air filter box you can make yourself, should it become necessary.

How to Build a Corsi-Rosenthal Box

Richard L. Corsi, dean of the UC Davis College of Engineering, explains how to build a Corsi-Rosenthal box. Dr. Corsi is an internationally recognized expert in the field of indoor air quality, with a specific interest in physical and chemical interactions between pollutants and indoor materials. His concept for a low-cost, accessible, and effective air cleaner, the Corsi-Rosenthal box, is now being used as an open-source do-it-yourself approach worldwide for reducing exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, wildfire smoke and more. For step-by-step instructions, visit: https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/...

**Danny** · June-07-23, 05:31 PM

El Nino is back.

**Zacha341** · June-07-23, 06:50 PM

This not good. Especially for those with respiratory issues. Maybe it's time to mask up again... : [ ...for the short term.

**Zacha341** · June-07-23, 07:01 PM

**Zacha341** · June-07-23, 07:05 PM

**jcole** · June-08-23, 07:21 AM

We made those at our library during Covid; still have some standing

**stasu1213** · June-08-23, 07:56 AM

Tuesday was the worse day of this smog. One could even smell the smoke. I am surprised that we weren't under a severe ozone alert

**467riverfix** · June-08-23, 08:50 AM

Blame Canada!
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**Jimaz** · June-08-23, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by jcole

We made those at our library during Covid; still have some standing

Maybe it goes without saying but another thing that might help is to leave your furnace/AC fan on when it's not heating/cooling by switching the fan to manual. That would constantly filter internal air through the furnace filter.

Ironically, we opened windows during Covid to avoid concentrating the virus indoors. Now we close windows to keep smoke out. ¯\_{ツ}_/¯

**Richard** · June-08-23, 11:22 AM

^ if you have central A/C with a HEPA filter,window units not so much.

**Jimaz** · June-27-23, 06:41 AM

It's back.

NWS alert in effect until midnight.

Keep windows closed overnight to prevent smoke from getting indoors and, if possible, run central air conditioning with MERV-13 or higher rated filters.

**canuck** · June-27-23, 07:58 AM

The Greater Montreal region finally got smoked out over the weekend. We had the worst air quality in the world [[major cities) for a coupla days.

The visibility was pretty awful, and it smelled like burnt rubber. A lot of fires are out of control, but there has been some rain in the affected areas lately. The forest fire authority [[SOPFEU) warned us that this is not over. It could last well into mid or late summer.