Erin Cotton didn’t notice the smoke until her eyes started to water and her two children complained they felt itchy.
“That’s when I remembered what I felt like during the Palisades Fire,” said Cotton, a Washington, DC, mother of a 5- and 1-year-old who lived in California as one of the most destructive wildfires in state history raged last year.
Cotton is one of more than 100 million people across the Midwest, Northeast and mid-Atlantic breathing in dangerous air brought by thick, choking plumes of smoke from wildfires in Canada.
Smoke put a damper on outdoor summer events across over a dozen states under air quality alerts. Events ranging from a baby parade in Flint, Michigan, to a rock concert in Herndon, Virginia, and the America’s Mile marathon in Pittsburgh were canceled Friday as smoke lingered. Businesses have also suffered during a busy season: Amusement parks like Kennywood and Sandcastle Water Park in Pennsylvania were shuttered due to the poor air quality.
Highly anticipated sporting events like the Cleveland Guardians game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the RowFest National Championships in Michigan were called off or postponed.
But one question looms as thick as the smoke itself: Will the air pollution be a problem for the World Cup final on Sunday afternoon in New York City?
The good news: The heaviest smoke could clear out of the region ahead of the final. The bad news: Some less dense, thinner smoke plumes could move into the area.
DC resident Abigail Nguyen planned to watch the World Cup on the National Mall with thousands of other soccer fans. Now she says she’ll just watch it with her roommates at home.
“I can’t really get the full effect and energy of the crowd, which is so sad, because we should be celebrating this summer event instead of being holed up inside,” she said.
Residents from Minnesota to Washington, DC, told CNN the noxious air has disrupted their lives, seeping into everything from their health and leisure to their businesses and family life.
Officials in a handful of states most impacted advised residents to stay indoors and to wear masks if they need to leave their homes.
For some, the shutdowns and masking guidance brought flashbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic about six years ago. Others like Cotton were reminded of past natural disasters, leaving them wary of stepping outside.
Communities across parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast will face poor air quality until Saturday afternoon, when a storm system arrives to help clear the air.
Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit had some of the worst air quality in the country Friday morning, but dangerous levels of pollution stretched into southern Ohio and West Virginia.
“Chicago is currently experiencing its worst air quality in recorded history,” the mayor’s office said in a social media post Thursday evening. “Please stay indoors, and if you must go outdoors, use a well-fitted N95 or KN95 mask for your safety.”
The Detroit Health Department is offering free masks to residents and encouraging everyone to stay inside. In Philadelphia, “everyone is likely to experience health effects from being exposed” to smoke in the air, officials warned in a news release Friday.
In the nation’s capital, DC Health is distributing masks to government personnel working outside, the department told CNN on Friday. Government outdoor activities have been canceled and outdoor pools and spray parks have closed, it added.
On Friday, it took Cotton twice as long to drive as traffic swelled in DC, with most choosing to drive rather than walk through smoke-filled streets. She then arrived at her daughter’s summer camp to find outdoor activities had been canceled.
“The kids showed up in their swimsuits but could not go outside to play because of how bad the air quality and smoke was,” she said. “All the kids had meltdowns.”
Nguyen was excited to enjoy a warm summer outdoors before the smoke left her hesitant to step outside for her routine runs to the National Mall and daily walks with her dog.
“I can’t see three blocks down. Everything is so hazy outside. My eyes were actually stinging a bit,” she said. “You can tell the air is harder to breathe from the smoke. I’ve never experienced this type of air before.”
A California transplant who lives in Pennsylvania, Coty Jen, said she has “experienced way more wildfires than I want to.”
“I have my air filter on, and I’m still wearing an N95 mask in my office,” said Jen, a chemical engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University. “It comes in through the seams of the window, through the doors. It’s all-encompassing, and it makes my lungs hurt. It gives me headaches.”
While some businesses relying on summer traffic have been forced to temporarily close their doors, others refuse to let the smoke alter their plans.
The Northern Lakes Arts Association in Ely, Minnesota, is opening its production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” Friday night as wildfires rage across the state.
“Let’s create a space where community can gather and have an experience together,” Ian Francis Lah, the executive artistic director, told CNN. “And hopefully offer them a reprieve from the smoke and the fire, and then the constant dread of who knows what tomorrow is going to bring.”
Vulnerable communities, including those with health conditions and people who are unhoused or work outdoors, have endured disproportionate effects from the unsafe air quality.
In Pittsburgh, community workers are checking on unhoused individuals more often and adding masks to hygiene kits they distribute, said Jerrel Gilliam, executive director of Pittsburgh nonprofit Light of Life Rescue Mission.
“Homelessness becomes even more dangerous in weather like this because of dehydration. People are sweating and they’re not able to replenish the water, and so they’re at risk,” Gilliam said.
And in Ohio, Dr. Megan Conroy said she anticipates helping patients with asthma through the weekend and into next week.
“My patients will tell me … they are noticing those symptoms, having to take their rescue medications and be very cognizant of their activities,” the pulmonologist said.
A quick-hitting rainstorm will bring winds from the south, pushing the smoke to the north and ushering in fresher air by Saturday evening.
Behind the system, winds from the north could bring more smoke into the region Sunday afternoon, though it won’t be nearly as thick and overwhelming as the plumes the area has seen over the last few days.
What’s the weather looking like for the World Cup this weekend?
The storms in New York City Saturday afternoon and evening could produce some heavy downpours and a risk for brief flash flooding in urban areas but should clear the area by Sunday morning. It should set the stage for pleasant conditions on Sunday afternoon for the match between Argentina and Spain, with temperatures in the low 80s.
Skies should be clear, though potentially still hazy from lingering smoke not as close to the ground. The air quality should improve compared to the past couple of days.
