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 8, 2023, 10:36 AM 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, 8:45 AM EDT

1 million N95 masks to be made available Thursday in New York

One million N95 masks will be made available for people at state sites in New York on Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday.

Metro North railroad employee Jommy Mosquera hands out free N95 masks to people passing through Grand Central Terminal as smoke from wildfires burning in Canada continues to create unhealthy conditions in New York, June 8, 2023.
Justin Lane/EPA via Shutterstock

Officials will distribute 400,000 masks at MTA stations, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, state parks and the Javits Center, Hochul said. About 600,000 masks will be available from the state’s Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services, the governor said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday visited New York City Housing Authority residents to deliver masks, according to his office, which released photos and a short video on Twitter.

-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds and Ahmad Hemingway

Jun 07, 2023, 10:56 PM EDT

Biden speaks to Trudeau about wildfires: White House

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke Wednesday about the wildfires in Canada, the White House said.

Biden offered additional assistance and also discussed the health impact of the fires, according to the White House.

"To date, the United States has deployed more than 600 U.S. firefighters and support personnel, and other firefighting assets to respond to the fires," the White House said in a statement.

Trudeau also tweeted that "hundreds" of American firefighters have arrived in Canada, "and more are on the way."

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

Jun 07, 2023, 9:27 PM EDT

'Hamilton' and other Broadway shows canceled over health concerns

A number of shows on Broadway were canceled over health concerns of the actors, in the wake of the wildfire smoke blanketing NYC.

"Shakespeare in the Park," which is performed outside, was canceled, as well as "Hamilton" and "Camelot."

-ABC News' Darren Reynolds

Jun 07, 2023, 8:14 PM EDT

New York City's 'smoke wave' response time for warnings criticized

As New York City was bombarded with dangerous air and smoke that turned the skyline orange, some residents and environmental experts questioned if the city's leader acted quickly enough to warn people about the dangers of the "smoke wave."

The city's Office of Emergency Management issued warnings on its social media pages and city alert system starting Tuesday afternoon and Mayor Eric Adams put out a news release about the dangerous air quality around 11:30 p.m.

Some environmentalists said the late notice was unacceptable given that the city's environment was already showing poor visibility and unhealthy air earlier in the morning.

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-ABC News' Ivan Pereira

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