NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — Wildfires are once again raging this summer across Western Canada, with much of that smoke billowing into North Dakota this week coming from Northern Alberta.

The widespread haze has recently been covering the bright blue skies for many people across the state, but also from fires now burning across much of the Western United States.

“There are a variety of fires that are actually burning out in Washington, Oregon, and California. We’re starting to see an influence of that smoke making its way over the ridge into our area,” explained Jeff Schild, the senior forecaster at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Bismarck.

Schild says aside from much of the rain the state received in June, the area had several days of blue skies that have since become hazy in the last couple of weeks.

“We were fine until the Fourth of July, weekend,” said Ryan Mills who works with the Division of Air Quality for North Dakota’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). He explained that the smoke started moving in the first part of the month and has remained in the area, “It’s become such an issue, we’re now tracking it daily.”

DEQ has nine sites across the state that detect air pollutants and they report their data to airnow.gov , which compiles all air pollution data recorded from sites across North America.

“So, all our ambient air data is uploaded every hour to that site,” said Mills.

Mills says the monitors analyze what kind of pollutants are in the air, including those from smoke, and measure how much of those particulates make it to the ground.

“You’ll see the smoke plumes aloft, but they’re not necessarily affecting us here at ground level. So, that’s where the monitoring network kind of says oh, yes this is definitely coming down,” explained Mills.

Not only can the smoke put a damper on outside get-togethers, but it can also harm those who suffer from respiratory conditions, like asthma and COPD, so the DEQ recommends that these people should limit their time outside when the smoke is thick.

While the Department of Environmental Quality finds how much smoke is in the air, it’s the job of the National Weather Service to find where the smoke is and forecast where it’s going.

The same radars that the NWS uses to track weather patterns can also detect smoke plumes, which can shift with the winds.

“Since our winds have gone south, you would think it would push the smoke away, but, some of that smoke actually ends up returning back to us,” noted Schild.

Schild says that when smoke plumes become too dense, they can adversely affect their surface weather observation network, which is why they also rely on satellites high up in space to track the smoke plumes.

He explained, “Yesterday, it kept telling us that we had a ceiling of about 2,500 to 3,000 feet, which is typically at cloud level, but, actually, the smoke was affecting our sensor’s ability to detect the base of the clouds.”

Schild says the NWS must also monitor visibility conditions, which can be greatly diminished by heavy smoke, and that their reports are crucial for both drivers and those flying the planes.

If you are concerned about the air quality outside, the DEQ says you can download an app on your phone that will give you daily updates on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index (AQI).

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