Northwest Iowa — What looked like fog hanging in the air in northwest Iowa this past weekend was, in fact, smoke from a Canadian wildfire. That smoke has now cleared and the air quality is back to normal.
The D-N-R’s Air Quality Bureau issued an air quality advisory Saturday. Spokesman John Gering says the atmospheric conditions not only combined to hold the fine particles of smoke over the state, but also pushed the particles lower to the ground.
He says the amount of haze seen here doesn’t happen that often.
The U-S E-P-A says its a problem when the particles in the air reach 35 micrograms per cubic meter. Gering says many areas in Iowa went over that Saturday.
He says that air quality can be a problem for some people.
Gering says. A check of the air quality monitors shows the Canadian smoke has passed out of the state.
Several areas of the state got rain to start the workweek, and Gering says that can help clear the air.
You can track air quality conditions in the state on the D-N-R’s website at: www.iowadnr.gov/Environmental-Protection/Air-Quality/Air-Quality-Index-AQI.
