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This year has been Canada’s second largest year for wildfires—the first largest being 2023, said Ricky Rood, University of Michigan professor emeritus of climate and space sciences.
As the climate becomes warmer and drier, wildfires are increasing in frequency, size and intensity, and the remote location of the Canadian fires makes it hard to control them, he said.
"It is extremely difficult to manage these wild forests in Canada, that are potentially hundreds of miles from roads," Rood said.
Rood expects this trend to continue, making wildfire smoke in Michigan a common sight in summers to come and bringing with it, worse air quality.
“I think it should be essentially something that people are not surprised by anymore,” Rood said. “I think it is reasonable to start thinking of there being a smoke season in the state of Michigan, the eastern United States and Canada.”
So far this year, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy issued 27 air advisories and 4 air quality alerts. In 2023, the department issued 31 alerts.
EGLE recently launched a new webpage meant to educate the public and provide information about wildfire smoke, air quality and how to keep yourself healthy.
Staying inside when the air quality is poor, wearing a mask and using air filters are ways people can protect themselves from smoke, Rood said.
This story was brought to you as part of a partnership between WKAR and Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
