Minnesota issues 'rare' air quality alert as Canadian wildfire smoke spreads

Carson Hartzog and Tim Harlow, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 3, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MINNEAPOLIS — Air quality alerts remain in effect for yet another day for the entire state of Minnesota with concentrations of wildfire smoke so thick the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued a rare hazardous warning.

The MPCA uses a color-coded scale when issuing alerts, with purple and maroon signaling when the air is the worst. On Tuesday, the agency issued a maroon warning for the northwest corner of the state and a purple warning for a large swath of northern and north-central Minnesota.

The agency has not issued a maroon warning since 2021, said Ryan Lueck, an air quality forecaster for the MPCA.

“This is not common,” Lueck, noting the air quality has reached such poor levels only “a handful of times” over the past decade. “It’s pretty rare.”

At 7 a.m. in Minneapolis, the air quality index was at 263, or “very unhealthy,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s airnow.gov website.

A cold front moving across the state was dragging in wildfire smoke from Canada.

The hazardous conditions covering places such as East Grand Forks, Roseau and the tribal nation of Red Lake means everyone should stay indoors, the MPCA said. The alert is in effect through noon Wednesday.

In the purple area, covering cities such as Brainerd, Bemidji, Moorhead and International Falls, “everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoor activities. A purple designation means air is considered very unhealthy for everyone,” the MPCA said.

“Try to find clean air,” Lueck said. “Or stay indoors and wait for this to pass.”

Air quality statewide is expected to improve on Wednesday, he said.

Air quality on Tuesday was expected to reach unhealthy levels, or red on the five-color scale, for a large part of the state, including the Twin Cities, Duluth, Hibbing, Alexandria, St. Cloud, Mankato and Ortonville.

Air in the far southwestern and southeastern corners of the state will reach the orange level, meaning unhealthy for those with cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.

Precipitation falling Tuesday over northern and central Minnesota may offer limited relief from the smoky conditions.

The MPCA advises residents to take precautions:

Residents are advised to stay informed and take necessary precautions to protect their health during this period of poor air quality.

-------------