Wildfires causing air quality problems in Illinois Friday

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Air quality across the state has been impacted on Friday due to wildfire smoke.

The smoke originates from fires that continue to burn out of control in Alberta.

The Albertan Government has declared a Provincial Emergency due to the situation. As of Friday Afternoon, the government reported 94 active wildfire with a year total so far of 494.

Those blazes in recent weeks have created a massive amount of smoke that is causing air quality issues across the United States, according to the EPA.

The wildfire smoke has been pulled into the United States thanks to prevailing winds aloft and a strong low pressure system with a cold front sweeping across the plains.

Guidance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a large plume of smoke swirling over the Great Lakes Region, with smoke extending into the Southern Plains. Another large…