Smoke from Western wildfires has East Coast gasping
The skyline of New York City on Tuesday showcased more than just the hazy shades of summer as it was filled with smoke that had drifted in from some 3000 miles away – where dozens of wildfires continue to torch the western U.S. and Canada, led by Oregon’s massive Bootleg fire.
Wildfire smoke prompted an advisory from New York health officials as the region's Air Quality Index hit 118, unhealthy for those with breathing problems.
Air quality readings well above 100 were also recorded in Boston, Hartford and Philadelphia.
Across the border, 500 miles northwest of New York City, Toronto, too was blanketed by a smoky, smoggy layer.
More than 80 wildfires in 13 western states have charred nearly 1.3 million acres.
The largest, the Bootleg fire, now covers an area about half the size of Rhode Island.
It has even created at least two of what are referred to as “fire clouds,” an unusual phenomenon caused by rising smoke.
Those clouds can produce their own lightning and essentially cause a fire generated thunderstorm.
