07/17/2023

Air Quality Warnings Return in U.S.

Meanwhile, Canada is deploying troops for wildfires

Canada deployed its military to help overwhelmed local authorities and emergency workers fight intensifying wildfires, which have burned nearly 25 million acres of the country's land so far this year. Heavy smoke from the blazes has prompted authorities in parts of the United States to issue air quality warnings.

The Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Coast Guard will head to British Columbia in the west after the Canadian government approved the province's request for federal assistance, the government said Sunday. Canadian provinces submit formal requests for federal assistance when an emergency "overwhelms or threatens to overwhelm" them, the government said, adding that British Columbia is "currently experiencing a challenging wildfire season."

The deployment of military personnel, aircraft and other resources comes as Canada struggles with wildfires that climate change has made more frequent, intense and far-reaching. Smoke from the fires turned the sky orange in parts of theU.S. East Coast last month, prompting local health authorities to issue air quality warnings and ask people, especially the most vulnerable, to stay indoors.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.