Smoke from Canadian wildfires triggered a statewide warning Friday about unhealthy air that will run through Monday morning.
Smoke arrived in northwest Minnesota Friday morning and was moving east in the afternoon, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) reported. Air quality is expected to worsen across northeast Minnesota Friday evening.
Visibility on Friday dropped from 10 miles to 1.5 miles in Beltrami County, the county’s emergency management agency said Friday.
A second round of smoke will move into northwest Minnesota late Friday evening and spread across the southeast overnight. By Saturday afternoon the smoky air could blanket the entire state.
In northern Minnesota, fine particle levels are expected to reach the purple air quality index category, a level considered very unhealthy for everyone. Affected areas include Brainerd, Alexandria, Hinckley, Bemidji, East Grand Forks, Moorhead, International Falls, Two Harbors, Hibbing, Ely, Duluth, Roseau, and the Tribal Nations of Mille Lacs, Leech Lake, White Earth, Red Lake, Grand Portage, and Fond du Lac.
In central Minnesota, fine particle levels are expected to reach the red category, a level unhealthy for everyone. Affected areas include the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Ortonville, and the Tribal Nations of Upper Sioux and Prairie Island.
Across remaining areas in southern Minnesota, fine particle levels are expected to reach the orange category, a level considered unhealthy for pregnant people, children, older adults, and those with breathing conditions, heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes.
The MPCA recommends everyone in purple and red areas, and sensitive groups in orange areas, to avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and limit time outdoors.
