Air quality alert issued due to wildfire smoke from Saturday, July 19th to Monday, July 21st

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an air quality alert for northwest, north central, and northeast Minnesota. The alert takes effect 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 19th, and runs until 9:00 a.m. on Monday, July 21st.

The affected area includes Brainerd, Hinckley, Bemidji, East Grand Forks, International Falls, Two Harbors, Hibbing, Ely, Duluth, Roseau, and the Tribal Nations of Mille Lacs, Leech Lake, White Earth, Red Lake, Grand Portage, and Fond du Lac.

Heavy surface smoke from Canadian wildfires will drift south into Minnesota over the next several days. This smoke will initially impact far northern Minnesota early Saturday afternoon and then spread south and east through the rest of the day and into the evening. Smoke lingers across the region on Sunday with light winds in place, and then exits back to the north through Monday morning. The highest smoke concentrations are expected to be across far northern Minnesota and the Arrowhead region from Saturday into Sunday.