The “unprecedented” wildfires recorded in the Canadian provinces of Alberta (west), Nova Scotia (east) and Quebec have created dense clouds of smoke that are not only affecting Canada, but have also reached cities such as New York in the United States.

The smoke has led hundreds of thousands of people to resume using KN-95 masks (which were used at the start of the pandemic) and health authorities have asked their citizens to stay at home. EL UNIVERSO reached out to several Ecuadorian migrants living in Canada and the United States to find out how the fires are affecting them.

Canada is facing more than 400 active wildfires

María Parrales, who lives in the city of Mississauga, 40 minutes from Toronto, Canada, confirms that her colleagues from the collage They have come to the classrooms with face masks because of the smoke that is observed in the area.

“Many were late, some were afraid. I felt a little worried when I saw the news yesterday that the fires will spread and reach here. But then I calmed down, because where I live is not where the smoke has reached as much as in Toronto,” he says.

He adds that he has “more peace of mind” because in Canada the rescue and risk response agencies are quick: “Firefighters and police are on the scene in seconds. There are a lot of trees where I live. There is a lot of information about evacuation routes here, they have given us inductions on what to do, both where I live and where I study, explaining everything that is happening in the country with snow, ice and fires.”

Fires in Canada have destroyed thousands of acres of forest. Photo: EFE

He says it is the first time he has witnessed a forest fire in Canada: “I know other Ecuadorians who are more nervous than me, who watch the news all the time, who have not been able to sleep. The days are dark, very cloudy. I have friends in Quebec who have eye irritation.”

The teachers of the secondary school where María is studying, they have taken advantage of the fire situation to discuss this “new experience” in class with foreign students, as Canadians are “adapted” to bushfire protocols.

Meanwhile, cities like New York in the United States are shrouded in dense orange fog because of the fires in Canada. In fact, last Tuesday this metropolis suffered from the worst air quality of any major metropolitan area to the point that it displaced the Indian capital New Delhi from this position; the values ​​indicate that it has reached the level of “very unhealthy”.

Patricia Caguana confirms that these days have been “terrible” because of the quality of the air: “They were dense days, the air feels heavy, we have a headache, our throat is dry, we cough. Yesterday (June 7, 2023) the smoke smell insane.”

New York is shrouded in orange by wildfires in Canada

It indicates that despite being in closed buildings, the smoke could be observed. The city government even recommended that its citizens only go out if it is strictly necessary and that people with respiratory problems should be very careful.

“My son has allergies so we had to buy an air purifier and we used it and really liked it. I washed the car because it was full of dust. Fortunately, the children have not had any lessons these days,” he says.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said cloudy skies, reduced visibility and the smell of burning wood are likely, with smoke lingering in northern states for a few days.

Air quality alerts are triggered by a number of factors, including the detection of fine particle pollution, known as “PM 2.5”, which can irritate the lungs.

So far in 2023, there have been 2,214 wildfires in Canada, consuming more than three million hectares of forest, while the average over the past decade was 1,624 fires and 254,429 hectares destroyed, according to Canada’s Department of Natural Resources. .