Traverse City air quality hits hazardous level from Canadian wildfire smoke

Traverse City’s air quality reached 533 at 7 a.m. Wednesday, a hazardous reading tied to smoke from Canadian wildfires that spread across Grand Traverse County and much of northern Michigan. Michigan put a statewide air-quality alert in effect for Wednesday, July 15, and Thursday, July 16, as smoke pushed conditions from very unhealthy to hazardous in parts of the state.

At that level, outdoor decisions changed quickly for employers, camps, construction crews, restaurants with patio service, and families trying to decide whether to keep summer plans. People with heart or respiratory conditions, including asthma, should limit strenuous outdoor activity, and everyone should watch for coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, dizziness, and burning in the eyes, nose or throat. Michigan officials also directed residents to check current air-quality conditions on the state’s MiAir page before heading out.

The smoke event was part of a much larger plume driven by more than 180 Canadian wildfires. Air-quality alerts were in place across at least 17 states, and some readings in northern Michigan climbed above 900, with parts of the state topping 1,000. Smoke from Canadian wildfires was spreading across the Great Lakes, the Midwest and the Northeast.

Events were canceled and people were urged to stay indoors as the smoke plume persisted, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore warned residents to use caution outdoors. Residents were told to move strenuous activity inside and shorten or cancel outdoor work and recreation.