Last week’s smoke came from Canadian wildfires

    Chase County and much of Nebraska were inundated with a smoky haze last week, leading people to question where it was coming from.
    The smoke was noticeably visible in Imperial last Thursday and Friday.
    Reports from various news outlets indicate the local haze was due to numerous wildfires in Canada, and were helped by timely winds and warm weather in reaching the Midwest.
    A story in the Toronto Star newspaper reported the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is tackling 23 active wildfires in the north, including five fires that are not contained and three of them requiring crews to protect property.
    Officials in Alberta, Canada said that cool, wet weather over the weekend—and more forecast for the coming days—promised a respite after the worst start to a Canadian fire season on record, in which 512 wildfires have already consumed more than 2.3 million acres.
    One report said some of the fires are extremely aggressive and creating a lot of smoke, which has made it difficult for firefighting crews to get on the ground.
    The Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services issued an alert last Thursday of the potential air quality impacts in the state from Canada’s wildfires, warning of possible moderate to unhealthy Air Quality Indexes statewide May 18-19.