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

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After days of wildfires in northern Minnesota, smoke continues to spread south, affecting air quality all the way down to Iowa. 

Friday morning, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an air quality alert from 10 a.m. on Friday until 11 a.m. on Monday for east-central, west-central, north-central, northwest, central and northeast Minnesota. If additional heavy smoke moves south from Canada this weekend, the air quality alert may extend into east central and southeastern Minnesota. 

Get the latest information on wildfires in Minnesota

 on a typical day should read between 0 and 50, and the air begins to become unhealthy for some people starting around 100. It’s labeled hazardous for everyone when the reading passes 300. 

Ben Cathey, MPR News’ chief meteorologist, said large swaths of Minnesota have soared past even the most dangerous levels this week. Cathey said Virginia, Minn. — about an hour northwest of Duluth — had a rating of 1,400 on Thursday. 

“Things are shifting largely into Lake Superior and Wisconsin and over to Houghton, but it’s going to be a months-long battle that's going to go nowhere fast,” Cathey said. “And so you’ve got to be prepared throughout the season for a resurgence of smoke."

Minnesota’s air quality has broken state record after state record this week. As of Friday afternoon, most of northeast Minnesota, between Duluth and International Falls, had reached hazardous levels, which means everyone should avoid outdoor activity and stay indoors.

In these areas deemed hazardous, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said that the air outside will irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and people exposed can experience coughing, chest tightness, or shortness of breath. And anyone can experience serious heart and lung effects such as asthma attack, heart attack, or stroke.

To track local air quality, Cathey recommends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Mandy Thalhuber, a meteorologist at MPR News, explained that wildfire smoke can travel so swiftly because the particles are tiny and can stay suspended in the air for days. 

“The intense heat that these large fires produce lofts that smoke thousands of feet into the atmosphere. And once it's high enough, strong winds, including our jet stream, [carry the smoke] hundreds or even thousands of miles.”

Thalhuber said last year the wildfire smoke from Minnesota went all the way down to Florida. 

While destructive, Thalhuber explained that the wildfires are a natural and important part of Minnesota's ecosystem. She said the focus shouldn't be on eliminating wildfires, but preventing them from turning catastrophic through strategies like controlled burns. 

“Fire clears out dead vegetation,” Thalhuber said. “It returns nutrients to the soil. It helps some plants reproduce and it creates space for new growth. And there's even some trees in northern Minnesota that have cones or seeds that are trapped in a resin, and they won't get released until there's a high heat from a wildfire.”

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Friday morning, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an air quality alert from 10 a.m. on Friday until 11 a.m. on Monday for east-central, west-central, north-central, northwest, central and northeast Minnesota. 

Wildfire smoke spreads: Air quality alert issued through Monday for most of Minnesota

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