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This satellite view shows Canadian wildfire smoke pouring into the eastern United States over the weekend. Smoke continues to plague much of North America. Get more info on the fires and smoke below. Video via CIRA.
Canadian wildfire smoke covers a huge swath of North America
Wildfires across the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have burned more than 500,000 acres. On Tuesday, the CBC said that more than 9,000 people had evacuated the number could go up to 15,000 within the next couple days. According to Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), there are currently 109 uncontrolled wildfires across all provinces of Canada, not just including Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Across all provinces and all fires, more than 4.5 million acres have burned due to wildfires so far this year.
The lack of significant rain as well as westerly winds of more than 15 miles per hour (25 kilometers per hour) forecast for these areas of Canada is making conditions worse. Dry, windy weather is typically a recipe for disaster for wildfires anywhere across North America. The gusty winds should become more calm in the next few days, but significant rain isn’t forecast until the end of the week for many of these provinces dealing with wildfires.
On May 29, 2025, weather satellites using visible imagery were able to see smoke from the wildfires stretching more than 3,000 miles across North America. The jet stream, or upper level winds, had dipped south into the northern United States, taking the smoke with it. Over the last few days of May, however, active weather and powerful storm systems helped push the smoke even farther south. In fact, states even as far south as the Gulf and Atlantic coasts have hazy skies and orange, vibrant views of our sun.
This satellite view shows wildfire smoke stretching more than 3,000 miles – roughly from Montana to the Atlantic Ocean. – on May 29, 2025. Image via CSU/CIRA & NOAA.Extreme fires in Canada
The National Preparedness Level across Canada for wildfires is currently at a level 5 out of 5. According to CIFFC, that means wildland fire activity is significant within one or more jurisdictions. This also means that equipment and personnel in all jurisdictions are being used, and “international help” has been requested.
In addition to the National Preparedness Level being very high, Natural Resources Canada has an Extreme Risk for fires across western Ontario, much of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This is also a level 5 out of 5 on the Fire Danger Scale. This Fire Danger Scale takes into account how easy vegetation catches on fire, how difficult the fire will be to get under control, and how much damage a fire can do. This means an extreme risk brings the threat of very intense, fast-moving fires that are difficult to get under control.
The Fire Danger scale is similar to the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System. The Fire Danger scale mentioned above takes into account how easily fires can get out of control and spread, while the Fire Weather Index is a little more involved. It uses six different features to calculate the index. The features are information from the weather such as temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation. But it also takes into account the drought conditions and how much moisture may be contained in organic or inorganic fuels, as these can all help fuel wildfires.
A map showing Fire Danger across Canada. Graphic via Natural Resource Canada.Poor air quality
The wildfires aren’t just driving thousands of people from their homes, it’s also reducing air quality across Canada and the United States. There are more than 200 Air Quality Warnings or Statements across Canada. And the entire state of Minnesota as well as much of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan all have Air Quality Alerts.
On Tuesday morning, the Twin Cities – Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, with a population of about 3.7 million – had air quality indices of more than 250. That puts them in the “very unhealthy” category. People in the Twin Cities were reporting the air smelling very smoky. The day before, northern Minnesota had “hazardous” air quality, as high as the scale from the United States Air Quality Index (AQI) goes.
Visit this page at AirNow.gov to get the current Air Quality Index. You can also find the forecast here.
Those who feel the impact most of poor air quality are people with a lowered immune system, those who are older or very young and people who are either outside for long periods of time due to work or lack of stable housing. Everyone should limit their time outside when air quality is unhealthy. Air quality across the United States is generally expected to improve over the coming days.
The Air Quality Index Scale. Graphic via AirNow.Canadian wildfire smoke on social media
People have been capturing the smoky skies and filtered-red suns and sharing them on social media.
Amazing and untouched shot of a bright red sun burning through Canadian fire smoke in SW Minnesota
#Photography
#Photographer
#Sun
#Canada
#FireSmoke
#Minnesota
#BlueSky
— Greg (@boondockersworld.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Wildfire smoke from Canada is really putting a crimp on night time stargazing here. It's also muting sunrise. Here is a pink sun thanks to Canadian wildfire smoke. #906Life #mymichigan
— UPBeachBum (@upbeachbum.bsky.social) June 1, 2025 at 5:27 AM
There are no clouds over Champaign-Urbana today… this is all smoke from ongoing wildfires in Canada.
— Andrew Pritchard (@skydrama.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Bottom Line: Wildfires have burned across Canada as the lack of rain and gusty winds fuel dry conditions. The smoke from the wildfires has been so thick, that the upper-level winds have been taking that smoke as far south as the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States, reducing air quality. Weather conditions look to improve slightly by the end of the week in the areas of Canada currently dealing with hundreds of thousands of acres of wildfires.
Read more: Fire season gets an early start in Canada and Minnesota
Rachel Duensing
About the Author:
Rachel Duensing is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society and is currently a meteorologist and climate reporter at CBS17 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Rachel has previously worked in Fort Myers, Florida and Carterville, Illinois. In addition to daily weather, she has covered tornado outbreaks, hurricanes, and extreme heat and cold. Rachel received her Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology and Digital Media from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. While at Valpo, she was a member of the Valparaiso University Storm Intercept Team, and along with professors and classmates, chased tornadoes and severe weather across the United State's Great Plains and Midwest. Rachel grew up outside Chester, Illinois, a small town in the southern end of the state (nowhere near Chicago!). When she was only 10 years old, Rachel learned about weather in science class, and when those lessons were followed up by a tornado outbreak outside her town, she took it as a sign and has been in love with weather ever since! When not forecasting the weather or reporting on weather and climate, Rachel spends her time volunteering at a local cat shelter and watching hockey with her husband.
