Air Quality -Smoke Impacts from Western U.S. and Canada

July 26, 2021, Smoke Impacts from Western U.S. and Canada - Air Quality Concerns...

"We have received a high volume of inquiries from numerous agencies across the western portion of Massachusetts regarding wildfire smoke impacts and public concerns.

Today’s smoke impacts are originating from heavy wildfire activity in central Canada, north of Winnipeg and western portions of Ontario. Smoke from these fires are being captured in the jet stream and mixing down to the surface here in New England.

Smoke modeling indicates these conditions will move west to east across the state and could persist until humidity levels decrease and surface winds increase to help move the smoke off shore. For a better visual, please see the attached NOAA Smoke Product analysis for 7-26-21 and the Mass DEP Air Quality Statement below.

Current Fire Conditions in Massachusetts: There is little to no current elevated risk for large wildfire growth in Massachusetts due to prolonged recent rains, high humidity levels and wet fuel moistures both at the surface and sub-surface soil levels. The exception are areas of Cape Cod,
where isolated pockets, which missed some of the significant rain events remain abnormally dry.

I am providing the following reference tools for those interested in monitoring both air quality and daily smoke progression."

MassAir (state.ma.us)

Office of Satellite and Product Operations - Hazard Mapping System (noaa.gov)