Wildfire smoke blankets the region and covers the skies over Rochester

ROCHESTER, NY (WROC) – The sky is blanketed with a haze, this time coming from wildfires out of Canada. Smoke from those fires is getting caught up by the jet stream and carried over a thousand miles, covering the region from New York to Maine.

There are hundreds of fires burning with focus across Alberta and Saskatchewan. Below is a map showing the active fires as of July 22, 2024.

Red dots: “Out of control” fires

Yellow dots: “Being held” fires

Blue dots: “Under control” fires

As of Monday, July 22, the smoke has not migrated to the surface layer, meaning it has not impacted air quality.

These fires will keep burning because of very hot and unusually dry conditions across western Canada. While forest management has a lot to deal with wildfires, climate change also plays a role. For more information on the relationship between climate change and wildfires, check out NOAA and their work.

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