Wildfire smoke congests skies across U.S. West, prompting air quality warnings

State of play: There are currently 68 wildfires burning across 12 states, the National Interagency Fire Center said Wednesday.

• Dozens of fires are also burning across Canada.
• Since June 1, at least 67 weather stations have recorded temperatures that either tied or broke all-time heat records, per the NWS.

The big picture: On Wednesday the NWS issued air quality warnings due to wildfire smoke to parts of Washington, Idaho, Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon.

• "Thick density smoke" also covers California, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, and parts of New Mexico and Texas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• In states such as Minnesota and North Dakota, the poor air quality is being driven by crossover smoke from the Canadian fires, AP reports.

• "We expect more acres to burn. We expect more smoke," Andrew Wineke, communications manager at the Washington State Department of Ecology, told local news.
• Satellite imagery on Wednesday evening showed smoke from the North American fires moving over southern Greenland and the North Atlantic.

Go deeper:

• Sprawling wildfires scorch Western U.S. amid severe heat wave
• Heat wave roasts the West as wildfires explode in size
• Welcome to our hellscape summer

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.