Wildfire smoke and air quality updates: Northeast flights disrupted

Air quality alerts have been issued for states across the Northeast.

ByIvan Pereira, Teddy Grant, and Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: June 9, 2023, 2:56 PM EDT

Hazy and dangerous fumes from ongoing wildfires in Canada have engulfed the skies over much of the East Coast, prompting serious air quality alerts in over a dozen states.

Canadian officials said firefighters are scrambling to put out the blazes. So far this wildfire season, Canada has seen more than 8.7 million acres burned -- an area larger than the state of Vermont.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Jun 08, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT

Nationals game in DC postponed

Thursday's MLB game in Washington, D.C., between the Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks has been postponed due to the air quality.

The makeup game will be held on June 22.

Jun 08, 2023, 11:11 AM EDT

National Zoo closes as dangerous air hits DC

The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., is closed on Thursday as dangerous smoke moves through the capital.

"Today's air quality is extremely unhealthy," the Department of Energy & Environment warned. "Everyone should stay indoors as much as possible, especially sensitive groups such as children, elderly, pregnant women and people with heart or lung conditions like asthma and bronchitis."

The sun rises behind the Washington Monument and a thick layer of smoke, June 8, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
Julio Cortez/AP

Jun 08, 2023, 9:00 AM EDT

LaGuardia, Philadelphia-bound flights paused from Northeast, Ohio, Mid-Atlantic

Flights from the Northeast, Ohio and the Mid-Atlantic bound for the Philadelphia International Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport have been paused due to the smoke, the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday morning.

PHOTO: The sun rises over the lower Manhattan skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., June 8, 2023.
The sun rises over the lower Manhattan skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., June 8, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside.
Seth Wenig/AP

The FAA cautioned, "We will likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte."

Jun 08, 2023, 8:34 AM EDT

Latest forecast

Waves of smoke will continue to move south Thursday from New York City to Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.

By Friday morning the AQI levels will drop for New York City. Smaller smoke plumes will linger from Detroit to Pittsburgh to D.C.

By Saturday and Sunday, the winds will begin to switch and blow smoke away from the U.S.

-ABC News' Max Golembo

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