Haze Settles in Area

Forest fires fanned by strong winds raged in northern Quebec on Saturday, sending smoke across most parts of the province and New York state, as well as much of Pennsylvania and some of New Jersey.

At least 50 fires were burning in a remote area near James Bay, about 500 miles north of Montreal, said Quebec fire officials and the U.S. National Weather Service.

The smoke is moving at 12,000 feet above sea level and should not cause health problems, weather service meteorologist Steve McLaughlin in Albany, N.Y. said.

"The skies will be very milky, very hazy, across New York and southern New England," he said. "It may seem like it's getting cloudy, but all the milkiness in the sky is smoke."

Temperatures reached into the 90s last week in Canada, causing lightning and thunderstorms that sparked the fires, McLaughlin said.

The fires have eaten up at least 148,200 acres of forest, and on Friday forced the evacuation of the village of Nemaska, home to about 500 Cree Indians, the fire officials said.

"Certainly, it is inconvenient and unusual, but we are trying to reassure the population there is no danger," said Chantal Drapeau of the forest fire protection service.

The thickest patch, about 200 miles in diameter, hovered Saturday morning between Watertown, Syracuse and Binghamton, McLaughlin said. It continued to travel southeastern, moving into New York City later Saturday.

"Visibility is gone to one to two miles in some places," McLaughlin said. "The sun's almost blocked out by it."

The smoke also moved across eastern Pennsylvania and into some parts of New Jersey Saturday afternoon, said weather service meteorologist Peter Jung in State College, Pa. He said a second mass of smoke was expected to move over the western and central parts of the state later in the evening.

Jung predicted the smoke could continue through Sunday, since the prevailing winds were expected to continue coming from the northwest.

"We could have a repeat if the fires maintain their intensity," he said. "We could have some more sporadic smoke plumes coming across the state."

Winds began to shift south Friday, making the smoke noticeable in New York. The winds intensified Saturday, taking the haze to an area 500 miles long and 300 miles wide, between Massachusetts and Detroit, McLaughlin said.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: 6 ABC-AP