Air quality advisory issued for much of Northeast Wisconsin

(WLUK) -- Smoke from wildfires in Canada are now impacting air quality in much of Northern Wisconsin. The Department of Natural Resources says, several counties are in the "orange" category, which means that the air isn’t safe for sensitive groups and prompting another air quality advisory.

Seeing hazy skies, and the sun and moon illuminating a deeper red, orange or pink color has been the norm lately in Wisconsin. Visually, those sights can be captivating, but the smoke causing that to happen can be unsafe for those most vulnerable.

“People, like children, the elderly, people with respiratory issues, or cardiac problems, and then also anyone who’s engaged in strenuous outdoor activities for a long period of time,” said Craig Czarnecki, public information specialist for the DNR Air Program. “Those are the folks who need to try to avoid extended outdoor exposure.”

The thickest smoke remains over Minnesota and Canada but several Wisconsin counties, including Brown and Outagamie counties, are being impacted.

“As long as these fires continue burning, there is always the chance that we’re gonna keep seeing these similar conditions here in Wisconsin,” said Czarnecki.

The DNR says, the amount of pollutants in the air determines what the Air Quality Index levels of health concern are. As of Tuesday, they have elevated to that “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category.

But for others, like those with allergies, the lingering smoke can still make matters worse.

“If there is pollutants, smoke or even allergens in the air, you can get a multi-factorial issue going on, where a few different irritants are bothering your respiratory system,” Bellin Health family medicine nurse practitioner Dylan Valentine said.

We all know by now that facemasks can offer some level of protection, but in this case, medical professionals say they do you no good.

“The masks that we’re using for COVID are standard surgical masks or cloth masks; they’re not going to filter out smoke or air pollution particles - those particles are often less than a tenth of a diameter of a strand of human hair,” said Valentine. “They’re gonna go right through the mask.”

Officials say, the best things you can do to avoid being negatively affected include, limiting your time outside, taking your medications as prescribed, if applicable, and keeping your eye on current air quality conditions. That can be done by visiting this website, or getting direct alerts sent to your phone.

The DNR doesn't expect conditions to reach the red category, which is the highest level of health concern.

The advisory is scheduled to end Wednesday at noon.