Canadian wildfires bring smoky haze to Capital Region

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — On Tuesday, many woke up to a smoky haze around the Capital Region, with wildfires in Canada leading to an air quality alert.

Kathyrn Sanderson usually walks around her Delmar neighborhood after going to the library, but today’s conditions stop her morning routine.

“The haze was unbelievable,” Sanders said. “So I did actually go as far as the library, which is close to where I live, but I couldn’t go any further because of the weather.”

Canada is dealing with hundreds of intense wildfires that spread from the western provinces to Quebec. Winds are also carrying smoke from those fires to the U.S. while causing a decrease in air quality.

Linda Viertel, a store manager in Stuyvesant Plaza, said she was shocked when she walked outside to go to work.

“It was really unusual, and there was a smell of smoke in the air as well, and cloudy,” she said. “I live out in Mechanicville, so... it’s all over the place..”

Viertel also said there wasn’t as much foot traffic as a result.

“Today has been so much slower than average,” she said. “People are sporadically coming in. And not the constant flow of traffic that we normally have.”

She also asked her employees and volunteers to wear a mask just in case.

“One of our volunteers who came in to help work our stock, we highly recommended that she wear a mask just because she had some health issues,” she said. “So absolutely, people are masking up for this.”

Brandi Ewing, Regional Director of Respiratory Services at St. Peter’s Health Partners, said the best masks to wear in these conditions are K95 and N95. But extra precautions should also be taken for those with certain health conditions.

“The risk is patients or people with long-term health problems, such as asthma, COPD, heart and lung conditions like that,” Ewing said. “For those patients, really do have to take some more precaution because it can cause heart and breathing difficulties.”

Ewing also said to avoid outdoor activities since poor air quality can cause respiratory issues.