BETHLEHEM, Pa. — With wildfires exploding across the West and in Canada, smoke has spread across the country and once again is in the Lehigh Valley.
“Noticing a haziness to the sky today? That is due to the smoke spreading into the region aloft from the wildfires in western North America,” the National Weather Service said on X.
“We’ll likely experience a smoky sky to some degree for the foreseeable future as the numerous fires continue,” the post said.
Noticing a haziness to the sky today? That is due to smoke spreading into the region aloft from the wildfires in western North America. We'll likely experience a smoky sky to some degree for the foreseeable future as numerous fires continue. #PAwx #NJwx #DEwx #MDwx pic.twitter.com/XrA4OTghK2
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) July 28, 2024
The smoke has put millions under air quality alerts, but hasn’t triggered one yet in the Lehigh Valley.
On Sunday afternoon, the air quality index in Bethlehem was 68, or moderate, according to IQAir.com. But the PM2.5 concentration was 3.6 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value, the site said.
PM2.5 is a type of inhalable particulate matter, or PM, that can include smoke, dust, soot, metals and more.
Thousands of fires burn
Thousands of firefighters were battling the flames Sunday across the western United States and Canada, including the largest wildfire in California this year, the Associated Press reported.
The Park Fire had burned more than 550 square miles of land in Northern California, according to reports, with the sprawling blaze only 12% contained.
“This fire is surprising a lot of people with its explosive growth. It is kind of unparalleled.”Jay Tracy, a spokesperson at the Park Fire headquarters
“This fire is surprising a lot of people with its explosive growth,” he said. “It is kind of unparalleled,” Jay Tracy, a spokesperson at the Park Fire headquarters, told the AP.
The blaze started Wednesday, when authorities say a man pushed a burning car into a gully and fled. It has destroyed at least 134 structures, and about 3,400 firefighters are battling the blaze.
The man accused of setting the fire was arrested Thursday and is due in court Monday, the AP reported.
The Park Fire was among 103 blazes burning in the United States on Sunday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, with more than 2 million acres burned.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre also reported hundreds of fires burning across the country, including 14 new incidents in British Columbia.
Lehigh Valley weather
The Lehigh Valley is expecting widely scattered showers and thunderstorms on Monday, with increased coverage late at night.
“An upper trough approaching from the west will become stationary just to our west for Tuesday and Tuesday night, and with plentiful warmth and moisture available,” the weather service said in its latest forecast discussion.
That includes dew points creeping back into the lower 70s and high temperatures in the upper 80s, pushing the heat index into the 90s.
If the wildfire smoke continues to hang around, it could have a number of consequences for human health — just as it did last summer.
The smoke can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and exacerbate conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, COPD and more, according to the American Lung Association.
