SCRANTON, Pa. — The heavy smoke from wildfires in Canada is taking its toll on our area, and the poor conditions are affecting people and businesses in Scranton.
A smoky haze blanketed Scranton Wednesday afternoon. Visibility got worse as the day went on from the smoke drifting down from the wildfires in Canada.
People wore masks walking around downtown to protect themselves from the smoke.
Nikki Sanders was walking home from work and said she was thankful she had a mask in her bag.
"The smoke is strong, and I didn't want to breathe too much of it in. I was out this morning without it on, and it's kind of a walk, so I wanted to try and protect myself as much as I can."
The city of Scranton wanted to protect its employees who work outside and kept non-emergency staff indoors for the day.
"Everything we do is outside, and it's strenuous work, so we didn't want to tax them. In the process of doing that, we also suspended all of our highways work as well as our flood protection work," said Scranton DPW Director Scott Pietreface.
Pietreface says garbage and recycling pickup was put on hold and hopes crews can resume the routes Thursday and finish by Saturday.
"This is the first time we've seen this. It was pretty brutal today."
The Scranton School District is also one of several districts in our area that decided to send students home early because of poor air quality.
City Hall also closed early, but there were still lots of people going about their day.
Sue Prisk says she usually plays golf in the morning but decided to do some gardening instead. She complained about the effects of being out in these conditions for too long.
"I have a little asthma problem, and I thought I'd wear a mask, but I couldn't breathe good so I'm doing it anyway. I just have to use eye drops later."
Experts say it's best to stay indoors until air quality improves.
For more information on the air quality in your area, click HERE.
Check the latest Stormtracker 16 forecast HERE.
Information from the state DEP about air quality is posted HERE.