Articles Tagged: wildfire

Government data, collected by the Iowa Environmental Council, shows some parts of Iowa are at higher risk of seeing wildfires — and they could see that risk increase in times of drought. What is the risk? And how can Iowans mitigate it?

A portion of eastern and northeast Iowa has “unhealthy” air quality Wednesday, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Iowa DNR on Tuesday issued a statewide Air Quality Alert through 6 a.m. Thursday. The agency warned that the Air Quality Index may reach the red or unhealthy category in affected areas.

Firefighters battled early Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.

As wildfires continue to burn at the highest alert level, Iowa firefighters are being dispatched to help federal agencies quell the flames.

Most of the smoke was expected to linger over Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan, but some could drift as far south as Iowa and Chicago, leaving skies looking milky by late Tuesday or early Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

More wildfire smoke from Canada is set to descend on Iowa on Friday, but it won’t be as dense as …

The lingering presence of wildfire smoke has made for an unusual start to summer across the Midwest. It also comes during a near-record drought and the threat of hotter summers.

The Gazette will be answering reader inquiries about the smoky conditions and what they mean for Iowa.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada drifted down to the Upper Midwest Tuesday, clouding skies and prompting air quality warnings.

Drifting smoke from the ongoing wildfires across Canada is creating curtains of haze and raising air quality concerns throughout the Great Lakes region, and in Eastern Iowa.

Air quality in Cedar Rapids deteriorated from “moderate” to “unhealthy” throughout Thursday morning, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Fire and Smoke Map.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires that turned skies along the East Coast a sickly yellow also brought air quality alerts to much of the Midwest last week. Climate experts say that as the planet continues to warm, this kind of spring will become less of an anomaly. In the process, air quality will continue to worsen, as will its impact on human health.

Wildfires in Canada — as many as 31 of which were uncontrolled as of Thursday — have been to blame for the hazy skies in Iowa this week. And while a cold front moving across the state today will blow the haze away, experts said it’s likely to return in the coming weeks and months.