The Wildfires Are Here Too – How Does This Impact Michigan’s Air Quality?

While over 100 million Americans are under an air quality alert due to wildfires burning in Canada, fires in Northern Michigan are also having an impact on your air quality.

Second Worst Air Quality in the World

On Wednesday (6/7), Detroit was ranked second for the worst air quality in the world, according to the IQAir Quality Index, which measures air quality in cities around the world. Delhi, India was first, but for a period Wednesday morning, the Motor City's air quality was worse than it was in New York City - and most of us have seen the orange haze that has been blanketing the sky in New York over the last several days.

Michigan's air quality - or lack thereof - has not only been impacted by hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada but also a wildfire that has burned hundreds of acres in Northern Michigan. Although that fire is now contained, officials with Michigan's Department of Natural Resources are preparing for the possibility of future fires, due to extremely dry weather conditions.

What Caused the Massive Fire in Northern Michigan?

According to the DNR, the massive wildfire that burned thousands of acres in Crawford County was started by a campfire on personal property. That fire, which quickly grew out of control due to extremely dry weather conditions, burned three buildings and closed a portion of I-75 over the weekend.

Click here to see pictures from the massive wildfire in Northern Michigan.

First Time Alerts Have Been Issued Due to Smoke

Jim Haywood is a meteorologist with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. He tells CBS Detroit that while provisions have been in place since the early 2000s to issue air quality alerts for fine particulate matter due to smoke, this is the first time alerts have been activated.

@wxyzdetroit Firefighters are fighting a 3,000 acre wildfire in Northern Michigan. #fire #michigan #wildfire #fires #wildfires #upnorth ♬ original sound - WXYZ Detroit