All across Detroit, the faces of residents are dotted with masks the likes of which haven’t been unseen since the pandemic. The masks serve once again as a reminder that circumstances beyond our control can have a devastating impact on our daily life.
The thick smoke of the Canadian wildfires that has covered the city in haze equates to eye, throat, and even chest irritation.
The source of the early morning surprise of the smell of smoke across Detroit has been established to be the 859 active wildfires, 3,547 fires this year and roughly 2.38 million hectares (5.9 million acres) burned so far this year, according to the Canadian Government.
With Detroit being a mere 1.4 miles away from Windsor, Ontario Canada separated by the Detroit River, our city is being especially hard hit by the wafting smoke.
Darren Riley, CEO / Founder of JustAir, a hyper-local, block-by-block air quality monitoring and forecasting platform, says, “It’s hard to give a full ranking while it’s still unfolding, but we can say that the east side of Wayne County was hit first; our monitors there showed the earliest elevated readings around 6 PM yesterday, reaching unhealthy levels before the smoke spread across metro Detroit and the rest of the region throughout the evening.”
The Detroit News has noted that according to a Swiss air quality technology company, Detroit the most polluted air in the world among major cities on Thursday,
According to a press release from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, air quality levels on July 16 have been deemed, “unhealthy.”
They also provided additional guidance such as:
- When possible, avoid strenuous outdoor activities, especially those with heart disease and respiratory diseases like asthma.
- Monitor for symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or burning in nose, throat, and eyes.
On X (formerly Twitter), Mayor Mary Sheffield wrote, “Detroit, we are experiencing extreme hazardous air conditions due to the spread of the Canadian wildfires. Please be sure to stay indoors, and wear a mask if you must travel outside.
These conditions can affect anyone, especially those with asthma, COPD, diabetes, and heart or lung disease.
Riley adds, “At the levels we recorded, this is air that affects everyone, not just sensitive groups. The people who feel it first and worst are kids, older adults, pregnant people, outdoor workers, and residents who can’t easily seal their homes or run a filtration system. The most important thing we can do during an event like this is spread awareness and provide guidance on the best way to avoid exposure.”
She advised that “N95 masks are available at the following recreation centers and DDOT transit centers: Patton Recreation Center, Adams Butzel Recreation Center, Farwell Recreation Center, Northwest Activities Center, Rosa Parks Transit Center, and Jason Hargrove Transit Center.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has issued as Statewide Air Quality Alert for Thursday (7/16) and Friday (7/17).
Detroiters have already faced numerous environmental factors that compound physical and socioemotional well-being including pollution and lead poisoning. Darren Riley adds, “And this is the true story of an event like this one. Many communities that already carry long-standing burdens, from industrial corridors, freight routes, and elevated baseline pollution, are often impacted the worst in a regional event like wildfire smoke. It doesn’t land on a blank slate; it lands on top of what’s already there.”
He continues, “That’s precisely why our monitoring network exists. Our monitoring network allows us to capture neighborhood-level pollution events that are too local for our regional systems to detect. Our team is working with our partners at Wayne County’s Health, Human & Veterans Services on a deeper analysis of this event and our network at large.”
