Watch: Canadian Wildfires Make for Smoky Sunrise over Beaver Stadium

Beaver Stadium had a smoky sunrise on Wednesday morning as Canadian wildfire smoke continues to flow through the east coast. The majority of the current wildfire outbreaks are taking place in this case are located in Quebec although other fires are raging elsewhere in the country.

As a result the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a Code RED Air Quality Alert for all of Central Pennsylvania due to widespread smoke impacting the state from forest fires across eastern Canada.

DEP guidance indicates that a “Code RED Air Quality Alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region are unhealthy, and the general public may experience mild health effects. Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects. The effects of air pollution can be minimized by avoiding strenuous activity or exercise outdoors.”

According to airnow.gov some of the worst air quality in the country could be found over Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning. Some forecasts expect that the air quality issues could worsen over the course of the day. AccuWeather’s current air quality alert runs through Wednesday night but as fires and weather systems continue, it’s unlikely that Wednesday will be the last time State College feels the impact of the Canadian wildfires.

AirNow forecasts a slight improvement for Thursday in the State College area, however, with air quality moving from “unhealthy” to “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”

“On Thursday and Friday, the worst smoke and related air quality is expected to shift west across the Great Lakes and parts of Ohio Valley and interior Northeast including the cities of Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Detroit,” Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather director of forecasting operations said in a news release.

Because no significant rain is expected in the wildfire areas in the short term, “the fires may burn for a significant period of time and continue to loft smoke, creating the opportunity for time periods where smoke can return to parts of the eastern U.S. over the coming weeks and even months,” according to AccuWeather.