Smoke from wildfires in Canada continued to drift into the U.S. on Friday, prompting air quality alerts across the Midwest, Northeast and mid-Atlantic. In addition, a wildfire in New Jersey caused travel problems in that state and added to the air quality issues in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
Fires in the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia have prompted air quality warnings Friday in U.S. regions as far south as Virginia and Maryland.
It’s been a ferocious spring for wildfires in Canada. In total, more than 3 million acres have burned in 1,981 fires in Canada so far this year. As of Friday, Canada has 165 wildfires burning out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, including dozens in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Quebec alone has 116 active wildfires.
In mid-May, smoke from wildfires in Alberta caused poor air quality and reduced visibility in several cities in much of Canada and portions of the northern U.S., NASA said.
Fog and wildfire smoke cause problems in New Jersey
The Garden State Parkway has reopened between Exits 38 and 63 in both directions, after a four-hour closure due to smoke from a wildfire and dense fog, officials said.
The 5,000-acre Allen Road Wildfire has been burning through Bass River State Forest since Wednesday. As of Friday morning, the fire has reached 5,000 acres and is 50 percent contained.
The closures were due to dense fog and heavy smoke, Ocean County Sheriff said in a Facebook post.
No residential structures are threatened at this time, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.
– Jenna Calderón, Asbury Park Press
NJ wildfire updatesOcean County Parkway exits reopened after closure due to smoke, fog from wildfire
Wildfire, smoke map
Rain forecast in Nova Scotia promises relief after week of wildfires
Rain on Friday and a rainy forecast for the weekend have fire officials hopeful they can get the largest wildfire ever recorded in Canada’s Atlantic Coast province of Nova Scotia under control.
“My weather app says 80% chance rain. Giddy up to that,” Halifax Mayor Mike Savage tweeted.
The massive Barrington Lake fire in Nova Scotia’s southwest is now considered the province’s largest wildfire on record. Burning more than 77 square miles in Shelburne County, the big blaze continues to withstand round after round of water bombers and air tankers dropping water and fire retardant from the cloudy skies.
But rain is forecast in that area and for the provincial capital, Halifax, where another wildfire has forced the evacuation of thousands. The wet weather is set to continue from Friday into Monday and Tuesday next week.
– The Associated Press
Contributing: Asbury Park Press and The Associated Press
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