"Western Wildfire Smoke Causes Cross-Country Air Pollution"

"Wildfires raging across the western United States and Canada, including a “monster” two-week-old blaze in Oregon, on Tuesday belched smoke and soot that gusted eastward and caused harmful air pollution as far away as New York City.

In 13 western states, more than 80 large active wildfires have charred almost 1.3 million acres (526,090 hectares) of drought-parched vegetation in recent weeks, an area larger than Delaware, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho.

Several hundred additional fires have burned in western and central Canada. They included 86 classified as out of control on Tuesday in British Columbia alone, leading officials there to declare a state of emergency.

The jet stream and other cross-continental air currents have carried smoke and ash thousands of miles. People in distant cities were feeling the air contamination in their eyes, noses and lungs."

Peter Szekely and Steve Gorman report for Reuters July 20, 2021.


"See How Wildfire Smoke Spread Across America" (New York Times)

"British Columbia Declares A State Of Emergency, Evacuating Thousands" (New York Times)

"Oregon Governor Says Climate Change Is Fueling Wildfires" (AP)

"How Bad Is the Bootleg Fire? It’s Generating Its Own Weather." (New York Times)

Source: Reuters, 07/21/2021