Much of SC under air quality alert from Canada wildfires. Here’s where and for how long

Patrick McCreless
·1 min read

Much of South Carolina is under an air quality alert today because of smoke produced by wildfires in Canada, the National Weather Service says.

Air quality alerts were issued for parts of the state beginning at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday and continued through 9:55 a.m. All of the alerts are set to last until 10 a.m. Wednesday,

“Residents of South Carolina should be aware of the risk for health effects related to smoke from wildfires that originated from fires burning across parts of western Canada, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control states. “Smoke can irritate the eyes and respiratory system, as well as aggravate or exacerbate chronic heart and lung diseases.”

The most significant smoke and highest fine particulate concentrations have been observed across northern South Carolina. As a result, the air will be unhealthy for sensitive individuals living across the norther half of the state, DHEC states.

SC places under air quality alerts

  • Darlington

  • Dillon

  • Florence

  • Marion

  • Marlboro

  • Chesterfield

  • Fairfield

  • Kershaw

  • Lee

  • Lexington

  • McCormick

  • Newberry

  • Northern Lancaster

  • Richland

  • Saluda

  • Southern Lancaster

  • Sumter

  • Abbeville

  • Anderson

  • Central Greenville

  • Cherokee

  • Chester

  • Greater Oconee

  • Greater Pickens

  • Greenville Mountains

  • Greenwood

  • Laurens

  • Northern Spartanburg

  • Oconee Mountains

  • Pickens Mountains

  • Southern Greenville

  • Southern Spartanburg

  • Union

  • York

What SC residents should do

DHEC recommends individuals with respiratory health issues limit time spent outdoors to avoid the smoke. Keep windows and doors closed. Run an air conditioner if you have one but keep the fresh-air intake closed and the filter clean to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside.

For more information, please visit DHEC`s website at: http://www.scdhec.gov/HomeAndEnvironment/DisasterPreparedness/Wildfires/. For more information about the location of the wildfires, visit: https://fire.airnow.gov.