Hazardous air quality forecast for much of Minnesota Thursday as fires grow

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Picture standing in front of a campfire, and feeling the smoke sting your eyes. That's something like the feeling of standing on the street in Ely Thursday.

White haze limited visibility. Bits of white ash sometimes drifted in the air.

“You taste it almost. It's off the charts, and I don't know how anybody can be out in it for too long,” said Steve Holthaus as he searched for N-95 masks at KJ's True Value hardware store.

The cashier told Holthaus they're sold out. A fresh order is coming in tomorrow. 

That's what she said to the next customer, too – and the next. 

“We are getting it as fast as we can,” said Jay Poshak, who owns the hardware store. “We're trying to help out as best we can.”  

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Poshak said he's never seen the air like this before. But he's confident about getting enough supplies restocked Friday.

Ely set a record for its worst air quality reading ever Thursday, with an air quality index close to 800. Anything over 300 is considered hazardous for everyone. 

Even a short exposure to that smoky air can irritate one’s lungs. And it's especially risky for people with underlying health conditions and young kids.

Kathy Raleigh, an epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health, said people should stay inside when the air quality is that poor. And they should take steps to keep indoor air clean.

“It's really important to recirculate your air if you're in your home, if you're in your car, so you're not pulling in air from the outside,” she said. “And there are also several other things you can do when you're at home. So things like don't turn on the fans in the bathroom, or don't turn on the fans in the kitchen if they pull in air.” 

In Ely, some community members are trying to spread that advice.

Residents have set up a hub at the State Theater where people can come and ask for help. On Thursday, lots of people came looking for masks. Surgical masks don't help much against smoke pollution, so volunteers handed out N-95s from a donated stash.

Bria Schurke, who works in emergency medicine as a physician's assistant, has been volunteering with the community group and trying to help people struggling with the air quality.

She's especially worried about people who are getting ready to evacuate.

“The concern is that our elderly population, in the middle of trying to manage their household and evacuate and stay safe and get food, they're also having a hard time breathing doing it,” she said. “And that puts a lot of stress on their heart, and that can have cascading effects.”

Schurke and other volunteers are advising people to order air purifiers from locally-owned hardware stores in town. They're also telling people how to make their own at-home purifiers using filters and a box fan, a contraption called a Corsi-Rosenthal box.

Lots of people have come to the hub to offer help and donations, too. Volunteers are keeping lists of people who have offered places for evacuees to stay, transportation out of town and storage space.

Schurke said one concern right now is getting an influx of donations that the town doesn't need. 

“They want to put their energy and care somewhere, but we want to make sure it's effective and goes to the right place,” she said.

Volunteers are helping connect people to the resources they do need, and making the rounds through town to tell residents about the assistance hub. She said any locals who need help tracking down an air purifier – or help evacuating – can come ask at the State Theater.

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Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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With a thick blanket of smoke over much of northern Minnesota right now as fires rage along the Canadian border, Ely set a record for its worst air quality reading ever on Thursday. Residents are on the hunt for masks and air purifiers, and some are having trouble finding them.

With air so smoky you 'taste it,' Ely residents seek relief

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