WASHINGTON, D.C. – The air quality in DC has quickly become worse due to the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Health officials said conditions are moving from very unhealthy to hazardous in DC.
These videos show just how much smoke is in the area. It is impacting visibility to things that normally stick out, like the Washington Monument. Local officials said DC is now “code purple” which is far worse from Wednesday’s “code red”. Code purple means the air quality is very unhealthy for the entire public, not just those with respiratory illnesses.
The EPA sent us an email saying they estimate more than one-hundred million people in the northeast are affected by air quality alerts on Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the senate floor, saying the best way to ensure that upstate New York does not suffer another wave of wildfire air pollution from the Canadian wildfires is to contain them as soon as possible. So he’s calling on the feds to double forest service officers to be deployed to Canada.
“From Buffalo to Binghamton, upstate residents have had to make impossible decisions between their safety and their livelihood; everything from afterschool activities to festivals, to sporting events and flights have been cancelled,” said Sen. Schumer. “The best way to ensure that Upstate NY does not suffer another wave of wildfire air pollution from these fires is to contain them as soon as possible. “
The White House released a statement saying the president has talked with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on these wildfires. The White House said the US has deployed more than 600 firefighters and other support personnel to Canada to fight these fires since May.
