Canadian wildfire smoke drifts into Michiana, leaving neighbors to weigh their outdoor routines
Locals prompted to decide between indoors and outdoors as smoky air from Canadian fires settles over region
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Wildfire smoke drifting south from Canada settled over Michiana on Thursday, leaving a visible haze across the region and forcing residents to decide whether to stay inside or continue their outdoor routines.
Along the banks of the St. Joseph River, Vicki Loughlin chose to keep walking. She wore a mask to filter the air but otherwise did not change her routine.
“I walk every day on the same path, so I walked all during COVID, and I’m still walking,” Loughlin said.
Evan Smith, a North Shore Triangle resident, said he noticed something was off before he even started his lawn mower Thursday morning.
“I noticed that the sun, when it’s smoky like this, the sun just looks like this orange orb, and it doesn’t reflect as much as I guess it normally does,” Smith said. “And so I was like, oh, I know a couple years ago there were pretty bad fires, and I noticed something similar.”
Sarah Brown opted to take her workout indoors at her downtown gym.
Caleb Higginbotham was near the river with his water-loving dog Oliver, who had just finished a swim. Higginbotham said the smoke was unlike anything he could recall from previous summers.
“It’s pretty crazy. I mean, I don’t remember it being this smoky before. I mean I remember in summers past we’ve had some smoky days but not like this,” Higginbotham said.
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