Minnesota’s air quality alert, first issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for large areas of the state starting July 14, remained in effect through Friday morning, with officials warning it could be extended further. The alert covers communities from the Twin Cities to Duluth, Alexandria, Brainerd, Ely, Hibbing, International Falls and Winona, along with the tribal nations of Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, Prairie Island, Red Lake and White Earth.
The smoke is coming from what officials have dubbed the “July Lightning Event,” a collection of more than a dozen active fires burning across northeastern Minnesota that have collectively burned an estimated 55,000 acres. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was closed entirely to visitors due to extreme fire danger, and the U.S. Forest Service shut all entry points to the BWCA at midnight Tuesday.
Conditions worsened as the week went on. Minneapolis was ranked the worst air quality among major cities globally on Thursday afternoon, before falling to third worst behind Chicago and Detroit by late afternoon, according to IQAir. Health officials have warned the combination of smoke and extreme heat compounds the risk, particularly for people with heart and lung conditions, pregnant people, children and older adults.
The wildfire crisis has also drawn a political response from Michigan, where smoke has similarly blanketed the Upper Peninsula and West Michigan. In a letter dated Wednesday and addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, four Michigan Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Jack Bergman, John James, Lisa McClain and John Moolenaar, accused Canada of failing to follow through on promises to address wildfire prevention.
The letter, posted publicly through Rep. Bergman’s office, notes that Reps. James and Bergman each wrote letters to the Canadian government last year raising the same concerns, and a year has passed with no meaningful change. The lawmakers wrote that they were previously told chronic underinvestment in forest thinning, fuel reduction, prescribed burns and arson enforcement was being addressed, but argued it was not, or not adequately.
“This is the third consecutive year we have had to write to Canadian officials about a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to,” the lawmakers wrote. The letter warns the U.S. “will look elsewhere, and act on our own” if Canada does not take stronger measures.
Rep. James said “American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction.” James plans to introduce legislation next week seeking sanctions against Canada over the wildfire smoke, while Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall has called for state committee hearings on the matter.
The letter arrives against the backdrop of a Canadian Senate report released in May that examined the country’s wildfire response, finding Canada lacks an overarching authority to coordinate national wildfire efforts and calling for a broader, “whole of society” approach.
Both crises remain active. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has not yet said when the statewide alert will lift, and Cook County officials continue to caution residents that BWCA closure and evacuation status apply specifically to the Little Knife, Thumb, Sioux, Bear Trap and Camp fires. In Michigan, James’ promised sanctions legislation is expected to be introduced next week.
This is a developing story.
