Canada Wildfires Create Unhealthy Air For Millions In Midwest

Aerial Footage Shows Wildfires Out Of Control

Wildfire smoke is pouring into the Midwest from Canada as dozens of fires burn north of the border. Let's get you caught up on all the latest information:

Where Is The Biggest Risk Right Now?

Since the upper Midwest is closest to the fires burning in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, upper-level winds are blowing the thick smoke southward. This has prompted air quality alerts for the entire state of Wisconsin on Friday, as well as parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Minnesota.

(MORE: Here's What Wildfire Smoke Does To Your Body)

Chicago residents could also experience degraded air quality as the smoke pushes southward.

Where The Smoke Could Invade Next

From weather.com senior digital meteorologist Chris Dolce:

The image below shows near-surface smoke on Saturday afternoon – this is the kind of smoke that can be unhealthy to breathe since it's at the lower levels. As you can see, the greatest concentrations of that will be in the Midwest and Northern Plains today through this weekend. However, some of it is modeled in a less concentrated fashion into the South and East this weekend:

This animation shows that a much larger area will see smoke aloft that is not necessarily an air quality concern, but will lead to hazy skies and orange/red sunrises and sunsets. That is spreading into the Midwest now and will head into the South and East this weekend. As you can see, this is a much larger area, but areas that overlap with near-surface smoke have the greatest air quality concerns in the Midwest and Northern Plains:

A pattern change later Monday into Tuesday will turn winds out of the south in the central U.S. ahead of a cold front coming from the West. That means relief from smoky skies and air quality issues should at least temporarily arrive as the smoke is pushed northward into Canada and away from the U.S.

How To Check Air Quality On The Weather Channel App

- Locate the pill that displays lifestyle options like "Allergies," "Cold & Flu" and "Skin Health." Locate the button that says "Breathing" and tap on it to load our Breathing module.

- Scroll down to "Today's Biggest Impacts" and the air quality index will load. You'll also find other important information in that module.

The Latest From Canada

Some 17,000 residents in Manitoba remain under evacuation orders as wildfires have spread in the province, and also into Saskatchewan, BBC.com reported.

"The conditions that our northern residents, communities and wildland firefighters are facing today are as severe or quite likely unlike anything we have faced in quite some time, if not ever," Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan, told BBC.com.

A state of emergency is in effect in Manitoba and more than 80 fires have been deemed "out of control" in Canada. The entire town of Flin Flon, Manitoba, was ordered to evacuate; about 5,000 people live in the city.

As the fires grew, some residents in Saskatchewan have also been ordered to evacuate their homes.

According to the Associated Press: "Canada’s wildfire season runs May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months."