Expanded Severe Air Quality Alerts Issued for Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan

Canadian wildfire smoke that hit the Great Lakes region Wednesday has intensified and expanded southward Thursday, with Michigan’s EGLE declaring a Hazardous air quality level statewide — the most severe AQI category — and alerts spreading into northern Indiana and all of Ohio as the smoke plume continues drifting southeast.

Michigan: Hazardous Statewide Through Friday

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) escalated its Air Quality Alert to the Hazardous range for all of Michigan through midnight Friday night. This is a statewide alert affecting every county and every resident, not just sensitive groups. “Everyone should seek cleaner air indoors and keep activity levels low,” EGLE stated.

Southwest Michigan (Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, Branch and Hillsdale counties) — covering Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, Niles, New Buffalo, Sturgis, Coldwater, Hillsdale and Three Rivers — is under a separate alert specifically noting Hazardous concentrations through Friday midnight. Central and western Michigan — Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Holland, Muskegon, Jackson, Ludington and Mount Pleasant — and southeast Michigan — Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Ann Arbor, Pontiac, Port Huron and Monroe — are all explicitly in the Hazardous range.

EGLE’s specific household guidance: close all windows, minimize opening doors, run HVAC systems with MERV-13 or higher filters (or use portable air cleaners), and avoid burning candles, using vacuums without HEPA filters, using gas stoves more than necessary, smoking or spraying aerosol products indoors. If you must go outside briefly, wear an N95 or P100 respirator marked with “NIOSH” that fits tightly and collapses as you breathe in. Do not use masks for children under age 2. Track conditions at Michigan.gov/MiAir.

Indiana: From Gary to Fort Wayne to Indianapolis

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) issued Air Quality Action Days for most of the state Thursday and Friday. Northwest Indiana — Gary, Hammond, Valparaiso, Michigan City and La Porte — is under an alert through midnight tonight for both PM2.5 (Very Unhealthy) and ozone (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Northern Indiana — Fort Wayne, South Bend, Elkhart, Kokomo, Logansport and surrounding communities — is under a two-day alert Thursday and Friday for Very Unhealthy to Unhealthy PM2.5. Central Indiana —…