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Louisville under 'Code Red' Air Quality Alert due to Canadian wildfires

Norton and UofL Hospital spokespeople confirmed to WHAS11 their urgent cares saw an uptick in respiratory cases because of the poor air quality.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The wildfires raging on in Canada are once again impacting air quality in Louisville and across the United States.

The sites were evident across the metro: the orange glow of a smoky sunset, the haze hanging under the lights at Slugger Field, the smoke wrapping itself around the downtown buildings like a blanket, with only the twin steeples in Butchertown able to peek through.

"You gotta' do with what you got," Mohammad Abou El-Ezz said. "So, I used my shirt. Just a little undershirt."

Abou El-Ezz is getting by the best he can with only a skateboard and a makeshift mask.

"You can tell it's worse quality than when it's fog. Fog is normal right?" he said. "But the haze, you can tell like, I'm about to walk--it looks like an apocalypse or something today."

While some avoided the outside at all costs, others had little choice.

"Well, I don't know what it is, but there is definitely a haze in the air," Lyndon Police Chief Robert Schroeder said. "You can see it but you can actually feel it too."

Credit: Doug Proffitt/WHAS-TV
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires made its way into downtown Louisville June 28, 2023.

Out in Lyndon, the air quality wasn't looking much better -- and for the Lyndon police officers on duty, it didn't matter much anyways.

"No matter the conditions, we are here 24/7 to do what we can do," Schroeder said.

The "Code Red" Air Quality Alert didn't stop hundreds from heading out to the Waterfront either.

"Yeah, right now it's kind of slow. And, it is a fairly nice day so, I was expecting we won't have a crowd because of it," Waterfront Wednesday event staff Kiersta Kottmann said.

Kottman and other staff said they noticed very few people taking precautions while out-and-about for the event.

"A couple of people had wished they had been. But yeah, there's only been about two or three I've seen with masks on at all," Kottman said.    

Annette Tolley may be taking precautions, but nothing could pull her away from her usual Wednesday entertainment.

"[I wore a mask] because of the air quality. It's so muggy out here. Smokey," she said.  "I have allergies and I just want to make sure I'm breathing okay." 

Norton and UofL Hospital spokespeople confirmed to WHAS11 their urgent cares saw an uptick in respiratory cases because of the poor air quality. 

The extremely poor air quality will continue through Wednesday night.

By early Thursday morning, the code red air quality alert will be downgraded to a code orange. While it's still poor, it's a slight improvement. 

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