Smoke and soot from central Alaska wildfires have afflicted the subarctic city o...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Smoke and soot from central Alaska wildfires have afflicted the subarctic city of Fairbanks with some of the world’s worst air pollution in recent days, forcing many residents indoors and prompting one hospital to set up a “clean air shelter.”
The hazardous threshold was exceeded again on Tuesday in the Fairbanks suburb of North Pole, the borough reported. Farther north, the massive Hess Creek blaze, also sparked by lightning, has raged across nearly 173,000 acres of remote timber and grasslands, making it the largest U.S. wildfire so far this year, according to fire command spokeswoman Sarah Wheeler.
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital has opened a round-the-clock clean-air room where members of the public can find respite from the pollution. A Fairbanks auto shop was also giving away breathing masks to help residents cope. The Swan Lake blaze has charred nearly 97,000 acres of the Kenai Peninsula since it was triggered by lightning on June 5.
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