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Photos: Wildfire Smoke Blankets Parts of North America

The Atlantic
July 17, 2026 at 6:28 PM
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Photos: Wildfire Smoke Blankets Parts of North America

Large wildfires in Canada and Minnesota have been sending plumes of smoke into the atmosphere, turning the sky shades of yellow or orange from the U.S. Midwest to the East Coast, and prompting countless air-quality alerts.

People walk in downtown Toronto, beneath an orange smoky sky.
Cole Burston / AFP / Getty
People walk in downtown Toronto as smoke from forest fires in northern Ontario causes poor air quality over the city, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 15, 2026.
A very orange-colored sun, setting in a smoky sky
Stephen Maturen / Getty
The sun sets behind a layer of smoke on July 15, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The sun rises behind the skyline of midtown Manhattan on a smoky day.
Gary Hershorn / Getty
The sun rises behind the skyline of Midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building in New York City as smoke from Canadian wildfires moves into the region, on July 15, 2026, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey.
Wildfire smoke fills the air as fans in a baseball stadium watch a game.
Terence Lewis / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Wildfire smoke fills the air as fans in Citizens Bank Park watch a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets on July 16, 2026 in Philadelphia.
People wear masks on a hazy day at an art fair.
Ryan Garza / USA Today / Reuters
People wear masks to protect themselves from wildfire smoke while attending the Ann Arbor Art Fair in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan, on July 16, 2026.
A small bird rests on the fingers of a war memorial statue, seen silhouetted against an orange sun.
Finn Gomez / Getty
Smoke from massive wildfires in Canada and Minnesota engulf the Washington, D.C., skyline, reducing visibility and casting a colored haze over the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial as the sun rises on July 17, 2026.
Several people in a small boat motor across a lake beneath smoky skies.
Anthony Soufflé / Minnesota Star Tribune / Getty
U.S. Forest Service employees help evacuate canoeists from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness after multiple wildfires burning there prompted its closure and evacuation on July 14, 2026, near Ely, Minnesota,
A dark-orange-colored sun, setting in a smoky sky
Anthony Soufflé / Minnesota Star Tribune / Getty
Thick smoke from the Camp Fire hangs in the air above Moose Lake in Minnesota.
People look at a yellow sky from a ferry dock.
John Tlumacki / The Boston Globe / Getty
People look at the yellow sky from the Quincy Ferry dock in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 15, 2026.
A person points to the Toronto skyline while they ride a ferry, under a yellowish smoky sky.
Carlos Osorio / Reuters
A person points to the skyline while they ride the ferry from Toronto Island, as wildfire smoke from northwestern Ontario fills the sky, combined with an intense heat wave, prompting health warnings and calls for residents to limit outdoor activity in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 15, 2026.
The sun rises over a waterfront on a smoky day, as a ferry passes by.
Arrush Chopra / NurPhoto / Reuters
The sun rises over Toronto’s waterfront, seen through dense wildfire smoke on July 16, 2026.
A yellowish sky forms the backdrop for a Ferris wheel and masts of at least two tall sailing ships.
John Tlumacki / The Boston Globe / Getty
A yellowish sky from Canadian wildfires forms the backdrop for a Ferris wheel that spins at Pier 5 in the Boston Seaport on July 14, 2026.
A person jumps into Lake Michigan, with Chicago buildings in the background obscured by a smoke-filled sky.
Scott Olson / Getty
In Chicago, Illinois, Emma Kristin jumps into Lake Michigan while smoke from Canadian wildfires covers the lakefront on July 16, 2026. City officials encouraged people to stay inside because the air-quality index in the city was rated “very unhealthy,” with some nearby suburban areas rated “hazardous.”
People walk on a bridge at night, with tall city buildings in the background obscured by smoke.
Stephen Maturen / Getty
People walk on the Stone Arch Bridge as dense smoke effects visibility on July 15, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A boathouse on a small lake island, seen under a smoky sky
Eric Seals / USA Today Network / Reuters Connect
The Lake Orion Boat Club, on an island on Lake Orion, Michigan, is seen through wildfire smoke from Canada on July 16, 2026.
People play basketball as the Minneapolis skyline is obscured by wildfire smoke in the background.
Steven Garcia / NurPhoto / Reuters
People play basketball as the Minneapolis skyline is obscured by wildfire smoke in the background, seen on July 15, 2026.
The Statue of Liberty, obscured by thick smoke in the air.
Yuki Iwamura / AP
The Statue of Liberty stands at sunset as smoke from wildfires blankets the sky on July 16, 2026, in New York City.
Wildfire smoke obscures the skyline in Manhattan.
John Taggart / ZUMA Press Wire / Reuters
Wildfire smoke obscures the skyline in Manhattan, New York, on July 16, 2026.
An above-ground subway station in the Bronx, seen under a smoky sky
David Dee Delgado / Reuters
Canadian wildfire smoke blankets the Bronx borough of New York City on July 16, 2026.
Sunrise on a smoky day, with the New York City skyline in the background, and a pair of geese in the foreground.
Gary Hershorn / Getty
Wildfire smoke shrouds the sun as it rises behind the skyline of Midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building in New York City, as well as geese in a park, on July 17, 2026, in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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Original source:

https://www.theatlantic.com/photography/2026/07/photos-wildfire-smoke-blankets-parts-north-america/687973/?utm_source=feed