Wildfire smoke affects local air quality

A Code Purple alert is issued for today as officials discourage physical outdoor activities.

By MEGAN SWIFT and HALEY MORELAND TribLive

The air smelled as bad as it looked Thursday in Western Pennsylvania, as wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Canada created an eerie haze across the sky and carried a distinct odor of burned wood.

Many sports teams canceled outdoor activities or moved them inside, Pittsburgh pools closed early, Kennywood closed at 6:30 p.m., and health officials broadly cautioned residents to limit their exposure and stay indoors.

The Allegheny County Health Department issued a Code Maroon — the worst rating possible on the air quality grid — and said conditions progressively worsened throughout the afternoon.

The region is hardly in the clear. The state Department of Environmental Protection declared a statewide Code Purple alert — the second-worst rating — for today.

“(It’s) been kind of flowing southeast toward us over the last couple of days, but it’s really dropping down on the Pittsburgh grid,” Andrew Kienzle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon Township, said of the wildfire smoke. “We are expecting (air quality) to improve, but it will be at least 36 hours before we see that meaningful improvement.”

Just after 4 p.m., the City of Pittsburgh announced it was immediately closing pools for the rest of the day because of poor air quality.

Allegheny County officials later that evening announced all county pools would be closed for the day and through today due to the air quality forecasts.

Health officials recommended:

• For everyone, avoid all physical activity outdoors.

• For sensitive groups, including people with respiratory or heart conditions, older adults and children, stay indoors and limit activity.

On Thursday afternoon, the Pittsburgh region was around 100 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality indexscale, but it was expected to climb into the 200 to 300 range, Kienzle said, with those conditions continuing into today.

The air quality index’s “unhealthy” category ranges from 151 to 200, meaning “members of the general public may experience health effects,” and the “very unhealthy” category is 201 to 300.

The air quality index topped 300 across parts of Western Pennsylvania in June 2023 when wildfire smoke from Quebec drifted over the region, according to National Weather Service data.

“Anything above 300 becomes hazardous on that scale,” Kienzle said.

In Cleveland on Thursday, he said there was “pretty shockingly bad air quality” — over 500 on the scale. Downtown Cleveland was at 596 as of 2:30 p.m., and other areas reached as high as 609.

The Pirates open a three-game series today against the Guardians in Cleveland.

Dr. Sally Wenzel, director of the University of Pittsburgh Asthma and Environmental Lung Health program, said wildfire smoke is similar to wood smoke and contains tiny particles that can irritate the body.

“The smoke consists of particulate matter that’s smaller than one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair,” Wenzel said. “When it gets into the eyes, the back of the throat or the lungs, it can cause irritation.”

Wenzel urged people to stay indoors when possible and wear a well-fitting N95 mask if they must be outside. She said masks are especially important for people with respiratory conditions and anyone planning to exercise outdoors.

Dr. Tariq Cheema, division chief of pulmonary and critical care at Allegheny Health Network and a teaching professor at Drexel University, said wildfire smoke can be especially irritating because the tiny particles can travel deep into the lungs.

“I can’t really quantify it, but it’s like walking into a room full of cigarette smoke,” Cheema said.

People with asthma, emphysema or other chronic lung conditions are more likely to experience problems, he said.

“There’s been a significant increase in phone calls from people who are not doing well — who have lung disease,” Cheema said. “Sometimes we have to put these folks on steroids.”

Cheema advised residents, especially those with lung conditions, to stay indoors as much as possible while air quality remains poor.

Major outdoor events are scheduled in the coming days in Pittsburgh, including Picklesburgh and the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix in Schenley Park. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, which organizes Picklesburgh, said in a statement that “air and weather conditions are closely monitored as part of the festival’s comprehensive safety protocols.”

The haze was noticeable throughout the day, with the smoke creating a gray tint across the sky.

“I noticed the smoke around 11 this morning,” said Michael Spanos, 40, who runs Gus & YiaYia’s ice ball stand on Pittsburgh’s North Side. “We opened the shaved ice stand around noon, and you can just look and see the haze in the air. “I haven’t had any trouble breathing, but customers have mentioned they’ve been having issues. They say they can feel it in their throats, like a burning sensation when they breathe.”

“Ain’t nothing we can do about it,” said customer Chuck Pollard, 66.

Bob Kassanitsh, 65, was concerned as he finished an ice ball.

“It (stinks),” he said. “Just the smell, my eyes feel funny, like they’re getting swollen.”

He headed to his car for shelter. “I’m not feeling too good,” he said.

Kienzle said the smoke will linger today, but the region should see gradual improvement into this evening. The smoke largely will have moved northeast by sunrise Saturday, he said.

In Tarentum, the haze prompted concern among some residents.

“You don’t want to take a deep breath,” said Willene Aikens, a volunteer firefighter for the Eureka Fire-Rescue EMS.

Aikens urged people with pre-existing health conditions to consult their doctors or local hospitals if they experience breathing difficulty or similar air-relate symptoms and to limit time outdoors when possible.

At Diamond Antiques and Gifts, employees Rhonda Netzel and Laurie Van Tine watched the conditions worsen throughout the day.

“When I came in this morning, I didn’t notice anything,” Netzel said. “I saw on the news about the big fire and thought, ‘Surely it’s not really going to come here.’ But it got worse and worse, and now it’s kind of suffocating.”

Van Tine said customers repeatedly commented on the smoky conditions.

“It’s been progressively worse as the day goes on,” she said. “People have been saying it’s foggy, smoggy, stinky. Their eyes are itchy and burning. The heat is plenty enough to deal with without the smoke.”

Staff writers Nadia Commodore and Naomi Girson contributed.