Canadian wildfire smoke is blanketing the skies in northeastern and central Pennsylvania, impacting air quality and prompting folks to move indoors.

LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — The smoke from the Canadian wildfires only got thicker as Thursday went on.

The Air Quality Index peaked above 300, prompting many across Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania to move their plans indoors.

“Usually, you could see the mountains and the nice scenery. But you can’t see them anymore,” said Cullen Moser, a camp counselor at Blakely Borough Summer Camp.

One of the beautiful things about Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania is the mountains, but they were barely visible on Thursday as the smoke filled the skies.

Air quality alerts are in effect due to breathing issues that the wildfire smoke billowing down from Canada can cause.

At Mellow Park in Blakely, parkgoers like Derick Cruz took notice. “Yeah, I can feel it. I actually do have asthma, so it does affect a little bit.  So yes,” he said.

Cruz was playing basketball with his brother. He was trying to be an optimist. Unfortunately, the haze only thickened as the day went on.

At 11 a.m., you could still make out some buildings in downtown Scranton. 

But by 2 p.m., downtown Scranton was blocked entirely by the smoke. Visibility was down to 1 mile in spots. 

Chase Litwin had a hard running workout planned with one of his friends. “We had a much harder workout, but with the smoke, it is harder to breathe, so we don’t want our heart rates climbing. We love crushing workouts on summer days, but it kind of ruins it,” he said.

Meanwhile, camp counselors at Blakely Borough Summer Camp say they had fewer campers today because of the smoky conditions.

“They love to play. They love to run around, but with this air, it is not safe for them to be running around, so we were just keeping it casual today. Maybe some coloring books. Some bracelets. Instead of running around at the park,” Cullen said.

Air quality should improve by the weekend. Until then, the Stormtracker 16 Team recommends you limit time outside whenever possible.