ST. PAUL, Minn. (KFGO) — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert Tuesday for much of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, as the state is again dealing with the one-two punch of northern wildfires and a dangerous heat wave.
The alert is in effect through Friday at 11 a.m., but the agency says it may be extended. It spans communities including Moorhead, Alexandria, Brainerd, Duluth, Ely, Hibbing, Hinckley, International Falls, St. Cloud, the Twin Cities Metro, Two Harbors, Winona and the tribal nations of Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, Prairie Island, Red Lake and White Earth.
The agency says “very heavy smoke” from fires in the Arrowhead, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and southern Canada will quickly inundate much of the state with the help of a frontal boundary.
The smoke will reach across northern and central Minnesota by early Wednesday, and arrive in the metro and southeastern Minnesota by Wednesday evening.
“Additional rounds of heavy smoke are possible from Thursday through Friday morning across the alert area,” the agency said.
Air quality levels will be at the maroon category on the air quality index (AQI), meaning it’s hazardous for everyone, in northeastern Minnesota. That includes the Grand Portage Tribal Nation and Two Harbors. All outdoor activity is discouraged.
AQI levels will be one category lower in severity, or purple, across east-central and parts of northeastern Minnesota — but the air is still “very unhealthy for all,” the agency says. Those affected communities include Duluth, Ely, Fond du Lac, Hibbing, Hinckley and the Mille Lacs tribal nations. People in these areas are advised to “avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and stay indoors,” according to the agency.
Areas in the red category, meaning the air quality is “unhealthy for all,” include the metro, Alexandria, Brainerd, Moorhead, St. Cloud, Winona and the Mille Lacs, Prairie Island, Leech Lake, White Earth and Red Lake tribal nations.
Even the short-term combination of extreme heat and smoke could aggravate lung disease, asthma and acute bronchitis, the agency says, and it can increase the risk of respiratory infections.
Over time, this could lead to COPD, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. High concentrations could permanently damage lung tissue.
Comments