Minnesota's bad air days set records for poor air quality

Wildfires have filled skies with "unprecedented" levels of unhealthy smoke

Sep 03, 20210

Brian Peterson • brian.peterson@startribune.com count

Smoke from wildfires filled the air around Duluth on Aug. 24, almost obscuring the Bong Bridge and Denfeld High School. The state has set a number of new air quality records due to wildfire smoke from Canada and the Greenwood fire in the Superior National Forest this year.

DULUTH – The smoky haze that clouded Minnesota skies for long stretches of July and August set several state records for poor air quality.

Smoke from massive Canadian wildfires and later the Greenwood fire in Minnesota's Superior National Forest, filled the air with enough particulate matter to cause serious health problems.

Twenty air quality alerts have been issued across the state this year, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), which tracks air quality and issues alerts when air is deemed unhealthy. That tops the record of six alerts in 2018.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-bad-air-days-set-records-for-poor-air-quality/600093360/