PHOTOS: Toronto to Washington, DC, blanketed by smoke from Canadian wildfires

Wildfires burning in Quebec are impacting millions of people.

ByLucia Vazquez
June 7, 2023, 3:47 PM

Millions of people in the Midwest and Northeast, from Toronto and New York City to Washington, D.C., faced smoky air throughout the day Tuesday and Wednesday.

As wildfire smoke from Canada swept south, the New York skyline was barely visible for most of the day, and the smell of the smoke was strong as commuters hit the evening rush.

Fueled by record heat and dry conditions, wildfires burning in Quebec are impacting millions of people as far south as North Carolina. In Toronto, thick smoke turned the setting sun red, and made views of the city from the CN tower almost invisible.

Air quality alerts were issued as the thick haze made breathing difficult and turned skies over much of the Northeast an orange or yellow color.

New York City

Manhattan's skyline is barely visible before sunset as the city is enveloped in smoke from continued wildfires in Canada on June 6, 2023, New York City.
Gary Hershorn
PHOTO: A man talks on his phone as he looks through the haze at the George Washington Bridge from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., June 7, 2023.
A man talks on his phone as he looks through the haze at the George Washington Bridge from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., June 7, 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
New York Yankees' Clarke Schmidt pitches to Chicago White Sox's Tim Anderson during the first inning of a baseball game, June 6, 2023, in New York.
Frank Franklin II/AP
PHOTO: A view of Brooklyn as a boat maneuvers the East River through heavy wildfire smoke near the Manhattan Bridge, left, and Brooklyn Bridge in New York, June 7, 2023.
A view of Brooklyn as a boat maneuvers the East River near the Manhattan Bridge, left, and Brooklyn Bridge in New York, June 7, 2023. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is pouring into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest and covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze.
Alyssa Goodman/AP
The Chrysler Building in Manhattan's skyline is barely visible before sunset as the city is enveloped in smoke from continued wildfires in Canada on June 6, 2023, New York City.
Gary Hershorn

Toronto

The sun is obscured by smoke from wildfires over the Toronto skyline, June 6, 2023, in Canada.
Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Newscom
People take photographs of Toronto from the CN Tower as wildfires in Ontario and Quebec produce a think smoke over Ontario, Canada, June 6, 2023.
Carlos Osorio/Reuters
PHOTO: The setting sun turn red as wildfire smoke shrouds Toronto, Canada, on June 6, 2023.
The setting sun turn red as wildfire smoke shrouds Toronto, Canada, on June 6, 2023. Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement for Toronto after the smoke from forest fires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario arrived in Toronto.
Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Newscom

Washington, D.C.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada blankets the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., June 7, 2023.
Leah Millis/Reuters
A tourist uses a cell phone to capture images as haze blankets the Washington Monument, June 7, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
Julio Cortez/AP
PHOTO: Hazy skies caused by Canadian wildfires blanket the monuments and skyline of Washington, D.C., June 7, 2023, as seen from Arlington, Va.
Hazy skies caused by Canadian wildfires blanket the monuments and skyline of Washington, D.C., June 7, 2023, as seen from Arlington, Va. The Washington DC area is under a Code Orange air quality alert indicating unhealthy air for some members of the general public.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

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