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Updated Jun 8, 2023 - Energy & Environment

In photos: Smoke from Canada wildfires engulfs eastern U.S.

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Cyclists ride on a street in front of the US Capitol Building as it is enveloped in wildfire smoke.

A cyclist rides under a blanket of haze partially obscuring the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 8. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Millions of people in the U.S. are under air quality advisories as wildfires continue to rage across Canada and cast a thick haze over the U.S. east coast.

Why it matters: Wildfire smoke has caused concerns over public health, displaced tens of thousands of people, postponed several sports events and impacted major eastern U.S. economic regions.

Threat level: In Canada, at least 430 active fires were burning Thursday— over half of which are listed as “out of control” — as the country is expected to see one of its worst wildfire seasons on record.

  • Conditions were at hazardous levels in several U.S. cities Thursday morning, including New York City and Washington, D.C.

In photos:

Wildfire in Canada.
Smoke and flames rise from the Cameron Bluffs wildfire near Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada, on June 6. Canada is on track to see its worst-ever wildfire season in recorded history, officials said. Photo: James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Smoke in Canada.
Smoke from the Cameron Bluffs wildfire near Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada, on June 6. Photo: James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Smoke in Boston from Canada wildfires.
Smoke from wildfires in Nova Scotia, Canada shrouds Washington Street in Wrentham, Mass., on June 6. Photo: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Wildfire smoke engulfs the Statue of Liberty.
The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor is barely visible as smoke from wildfires in Quebec spreads across the region on June 6. Photo: Gardiner Anderson for NY Daily News via Getty Images
Smoke continues to shroud the sun as it rises behind the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City.
Smoke shrouds the sun as it rises behind the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on June 7, as seen from Jersey City, N.J. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Man with baby stroller walks with Manhattan skyline in background.
A person walks with a stroller in a park in front of the New York City skyline as it's covered with haze and smoke from Canada wildfires on June 7, in Weehawken, N.J. Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
Chicago baseball field is filled with wildfire smoke.
Hazy covers Yankee Stadium in New York City before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees on June 7, which was later canceled. Photo: New York Yankees/Getty Images
The National Mall engulfed with smoke.
Tourists walk on the National Mall as smoke from wildfires in Canada cause hazy conditions in Washington, D.C., on June 7. Residents of the nation's capital woke Wednesday to an acrid smell and cloudy skies despite sunny weather. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Washington Monument at sunrise in a haze of smoke from wildfires.
The Washington Monument stands in hazy smoke in Washington, D.C., on June 8. The city, for the first time on record, issued a Code Purple air quality advisory over high concentrations of hazardous fine particulate matter. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Soldiers walk through smoke.
Members of the U.S. Marine Corps rehearse in hazy smoke for the Sunset Parade at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on June 8. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Biden pointing a piece of paper about wildfire smoke.
President Joe Biden shows an air quality chart caused by the Canadian wildfires before a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 8. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Philadelphia in smoke.
Buildings shrouded in smoke in Philadelphia on June 8. Photo: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pedestrians wear masks to protect themselves from wildfire smoke.
Pedestrians wear face masks in Philadelphia on June 8, 2023. Photo: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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