Oh, No, Canada! Wildfires Smoke Out Michigan for Fourth Straight Summer
Americans say Canada must take responsibility — and action.
It’s a cruel summer in Michigan. For the fourth straight year, smoke from Canadian wildfires has turned the skies yellow and the air noxious.
In suburban Detroit, the skies take on a yellow haze. The air is not just thick — it smells burnt.
Throughout the so-called pleasant peninsula, from Monroe to the south to the Mackinac Bridge up north, visibility is low. Air quality is poor. Driving, walking, and breathing are all more difficult than they were when the week started.
Congressman John James, the Republican frontrunner in the governor’s race, Thursday issued Canada a “final warning.”
“Manage your forests to prevent these fires. American lungs are paying the price of Canadian inaction, year after year,” he wrote. “Sovereignty comes with responsibility, and the responsibility to prevent a foreseeable disaster from crossing into another country’s airspace has not been met.”
But Mr. James’s colleague Congressman Lisa McClain, a fellow Michigan Republican, says there is no quick fix.
“Once again, Michigan is suffering from Canada’s wildfire crisis,” she said Wednesday night. “I’ve already spoken with the White House and Ambassador Pete Hoekstra to get answers and understand our options. I’ll always be honest with you: There is no magic switch that forces Canada to solve this.”
In the past, President Trump has joked about annexing Canada and turning it into America’s 51st state. With Canada perennially unable — or unwilling — to manage its forests and contain its wildfires, that idea might have some takers in Michigan.
The National Weather Service issued a statewide air-quality alert for Michigan. Throughout metro Detroit, air-quality readings say it’s “hazardous” and warn people to stay inside.
“Plumes of smoke from Canadian wildfires will move through the region this week. The plumes have reached the upper peninsula and northern lower peninsula, and will continue sinking through the southern lower peninsula to the Michigan/Indiana border,” the alert read.
National Weather Service adds: “It is recommended that, when possible, you avoid strenuous outdoor activities, especially those with heart disease and respiratory conditions like asthma. Watch for symptoms including wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or burning in nose, throat, and eyes.”
Thursday morning, the city’s office of the ombudsman, its in-house advocate for the people of Detroit, announced it would work remotely for the next two days and not at Detroit city hall.
Michigan firefighters were dispatched to Canada last year to put out wildfires. This may need to become a standing arrangement.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer made note of the air-quality alert on X but said nothing of its Canadian origin.
Michigan is a cold state, with about 90 hot days per year. Michiganders like to spend those days outdoors. Wildfire smoke forces them indoors at the height of summer.
Football players are in the middle of summer conditioning for the fall. Wildfire smoke does not help their cause.
“A dense smoke advisory is in effect this morning,” National Weather Service said Thursday. “An extension will be likely as wildfire smoke remains entrenched across the Great Lakes.”
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