Smoke in Pittsburgh

Wildfire smoke in Pittsburgh before sunset 16 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 17 July 2026 Yesterday while I wrote about the raging wildfires in western Ontario, 1000 miles from Pittsburgh, their smoke was blowing in our direction. By 8:00am yesterday I could see it as faint haze. By sunset it had turned the sun orange. The smoke was so thick that John English did not need a filter to photograph the sun, complete with sunspot. Sun in wildfire smoke, Homestead, PA, 16 July 2026 (photo by John English) Since then the air has gotten worse and is dangerous for everyone. The PurpleAir monitor network shows a large swath of hazardous air (maroon color) from Western Ontario through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Its path is amazingly well defined on the northern edge where you need only drive 50-60 miles to escape the smoke (green). I’ve drawn a white line at that edge. Click here for a closeup of the white line. Click the link to see the live PurpleAir monitor map. Zoom in on…