Hazy smoke from Canadian wildfires covers Berks County as the sun rises Wednesday over the Oley Valley. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
<p>As Dr. Christopher Valente and his wife strolled through their Wyomissing neighborhood Tuesday evening, a familiar aroma hit their noses.</p><p>It was the distinctive, heavy, acrid odor of smoke.</p><p>Curious, they decided to track down the source of the scent. They figured there might be a house fire nearby, or perhaps someone enjoying a firepit.</p><p>"We said, 'Let's try to track this down,'" Valente, chief of the division of pediatric emergency medicine and vice chair of the department of emergency medicine at Reading Hospital, recounted Wednesday. "Little did we know we'd still be walking for months to get to it. It's pretty wild."</p><p>The smoke that was wafting through Wyomissing, as well as the rest of the region, wasn't from a local source. In fact, its origins were several hundreds of miles away.</p><p><img class="size-article_inline lazyautosizes lazyload" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1" sizes="414px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1 1860w" alt="Reading is engulfed and darkened at midday Wednesday by smoke from Canadian wildfires. The Pagoda is barely visible on Mount Penn in this view from West Reading. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)" width="3712" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1" data-attachment-id="1225739" data-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-RNPHazeCanadian.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1 1860w" /> Reading is engulfed and darkened at midday Wednesday by smoke from Canadian wildfires. The Pagoda is barely visible on Mount Penn in this view from West Reading. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)</p><p>A collection of wildfires in Canada have sent a blanket of smoke into the sky, and south-blowing winds have carried it over a large portion of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. — including Berks County and southeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>Beginning Tuesday evening, a haze could be seen in the sky around the county, accompanied by the unmistakable smell of something burning. The situation persisted Wednesday — leading to a Code Red air quality alert from the National Weather Service in Berks and the region — and is expected to continue, wavering in intensity, until Friday.</p><p>But Valente, as well as colleague Dr. Brian Lahmann, said that despite the obvious existence of the dangerous airborne smoke pollution, most Berks residents don't need to be overly concerned about it seriously impacting their health.</p><p>"It needs to be on people's radar, especially those with chronic health conditions," Valente said. "But for the average person, it's just something we need to keep an eye on."</p><h4>What's happening?</h4><p>Canada is in the midst of a wildfire crisis.</p><p>As of Wednesday morning, Canadian officials reported the country was experiencing more than 400 active fires, with more than 240 deemed out of control. More than 150 of the fires are in the province of Quebec, while dozens have been also been reported in Alberta and British Columbia.</p><p>Large swaths of forest are ablaze, sending smoke billowing into the air. And that air, polluted with hazardous fine particles, has been moving south.</p><p>"The fires up there are not being put out, no one can get to them. They're just burning away," Tom Kines, a meteorologist for <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/">AccuWeather</a>, said Wednesday. "The upper-level winds are going north to south, which has been bringing that smoke in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic over the past couple of days."</p><p><img class="size-article_inline lazyautosizes lazyload" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1" sizes="414px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1 1860w" alt="This photo was taken Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. from Railroad Road in Centre Township. Mount Penn is visible in the distance on a clear day, but it is obscured by the smoke from fires in Quebec, Canada. (Courtesy of Anne Ostrowski)" width="2000" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1" data-attachment-id="1225731" data-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-Canadianwildfire.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1 1860w" /> This photo was taken Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. from Railroad Road in Centre Township. Mount Penn is visible in the distance on a clear day, but it is obscured by the smoke from fires in Quebec, Canada. (Courtesy of Anne Ostrowski)</p><p>The smoky air has already had a major impact, particularly on large urban areas. At one point early Wednesday, New York was rated as the city with the second most polluted air, behind only New Delhi, India. And Detroit has found itself among the 10 worst.</p><p>As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, <a href="https://fire.airnow.gov/">readings</a> at the Reading Airport reported by the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a> showed an very unhealthy air quality level. The PM2.5 reading — which measures the amount of particle matter in the air 2.5 micrometers and smaller — was at 255.</p><p>That's the highest reading since they began rising Tuesday evening. At 8 p.m. Tuesday readings moved into the unhealthy level when they hit 179 and have wavered between unhealthy and very unhealthy levels ever since.</p><p>Any number above 35 over a 24-hour period is considered unhealthy.</p><p>The smoke pollution situation led Berks to be included in <a href="https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=PA12664E2703DC.AirQualityAlert.12664E364874PA.PHIAQAPHI.6a1ccbc70a105f81afedf07777d6c348">air quality alerts</a> from the National Weather Service on Tuesday and Wednesday.</p><p>A Code Orange alert issued Tuesday was upgraded to a Code Red alert on Wednesday that was set to last until at least midnight. The alert means that air quality within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.</p><p>Kines said he doesn't expect the situation to change quickly.</p><p>"Obviously, the smoke has been pretty thick at times, and I think it's going to stay that way today, tomorrow and, it's not out of the question, into Friday," he said Wednesday. "It's not going to be as thick all the time, but patches will move through."</p><p>Kines said the smoke will only clear when the winds shift and blow it out of the region. Putting out the fires also would help, he added.</p><p>"We're looking for winds to change direction, and that probably won't happen until the weekend," he said. "As long as those fires are burning and we're seeing wind flow out of the north, there's going to be issues.</p><p>"The good thing is, there are going to be a scattering of showers up there in Canada over the next few days that may put a damper on things. It's not much, but every little bit helps."</p><h4>Is the situation dangerous?</h4><p>The air pollution caused by the smoke from the Canadian wildfire certainly isn't healthy.</p><p>But just how unhealthy it is isn't crystal clear.</p><p>Lahmann and Valente said the level of air contamination is definitely a concern for those with chronic health issues, particularly involving the lungs or heart.</p><p><img class="lazyautosizes lazyload" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1" sizes="340px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1 1860w" alt="Dr. Brian Lahmann" width="340" height="476" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1" data-attachment-id="1225694" data-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/LahmannBrian-.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1 1860w" /> Dr. Brian Lahmann</p><p>"Air pollution is basically really fine particles that are in the air that we breathe that can get into our lungs and circulatory system," Lehman, chair of the department of emergency medicine at Reading hospital, said. "They can trigger things like asthma or other conditions."</p><p>For people with chronic conditions, Valente said, it's a good idea to try to stay indoors as much as possible when the air quality is as poor as it is. And if you need to go outside, he said, you should consider donning an N95 mask.</p><p>"That can filter out some of these smoke particles," he said. "There could be some benefits."</p><p>Valente said the poor air quality could be an issue for the elderly.</p><p>"It's similar to an extreme heat emergency, where the elderly are more susceptible," he said. "If you have elderly family or neighbors this might be a time to check on them."</p><p>As for the generally healthy members of the public, Lahmann and Valente said there doesn't appear to be any reason to panic at this point.</p><p><img class="lazyautosizes lazyload" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1" sizes="340px" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1 1860w" alt="Dr. Christopher Valente" width="340" height="476" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1" data-attachment-id="1225726" data-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.readingeagle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/REG-L-DrChristopherValente-01.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1 1860w" /> Dr. Christopher Valente</p><p>"The vast majority of people are OK to go about their daily routine," Valente said.</p><p>Of course, he added, there are some caveats. While people should feel safe walking from their car to the grocery store, for example, and hour-long outdoor jog is probably a bad idea.</p><p>"You should avoid intense physical activity outdoors," he said.</p><p>That warning was heeded by several organizations around Berks. They included a number of <a href="https://www.readingeagle.com/2023/06/07/wilsons-piaa-class-3a-girls-lacrosse-opener-postponed-due-to-poor-quality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">school districts</a> that postponed outdoor sports Wednesday, professional baseball games in <a href="https://www.readingeagle.com/2023/06/07/mlb-wnba-postpone-games-due-to-smoke-from-canadian-wildfires/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia</a> and <a href="https://www.readingeagle.com/2023/06/07/reading-fightin-phils-home-game-vs-binghamton-wednesday-is-postponed-due-to-poor-air-quality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reading</a> also were postponed and some outdoor pools temporarily shut down.</p><p>The American Lung Association has taken a bit more cautious stance on the dangers of the smoke-polluted air.</p><p>"People should be concerned," Kevin Stewart, director of environmental health for the association, said Wednesday. "This is some of the worst air pollution we've had. It's been many years since Berks saw air pollution this bad."</p><p>Stewart said the air quality levels are a serious concern for those with chronic health conditions and for the general public.</p><p>"Our concerns are such that the Lung Association is recommending that people should just stay indoors to avoid breathing the smoke," he said. "If you can do it, absolutely stay indoors. This is not the kind of environment where you want to be breathing the air, this is not good for your health.</p><p>Stewart said the impact the air can have on people is on a sliding scale. It depends on the health of the individual, the amount of time they spend breathing the air and the amount of pollution in that air.</p><p>"You might go out and be fine, or you might experience problems," he said. "You don't know until you do it, so I would say don't take the risk."</p><p>The lung association has issued a list of recommendations for how to deal with the current poor air quality levels:</p><p>• Stay indoors — People living close to the fire-stricken areas should remain indoors and avoid breathing smoke, ashes and other pollution in the area.</p><p>• Protect the air in your home — Keep doors, windows and fireplace dampers shut and preferably with clean air circulating through air conditioners on the recirculation setting.</p><p>• Keep an eye on symptoms — Higher levels of smoke in some areas can make breathing more difficult. If you are experiencing symptoms, contact your healthcare provider.</p><p>• Take precautions for kids — Extra precaution should be taken for children and teens, who are more susceptible to smoke. Their lungs are still developing, and they breathe in more air (and consequently more pollution) for their size than adults.</p><p>• Ask for help — The American Lung Association’s Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA is staffed by nurses and respiratory therapists and is a free resource to answer any questions about the lungs, lung disease and lung health, including how to protect yourself during wildfires.</p><p>Stewart added another, saying precautions should also apply to people's furry friends. He said pets should be kept indoors as much as possible until conditions improve.</p><p>"They have lungs, too," he said.</p><p></p>
