Last Updated on July 15, 2026 1:08 pm
Smoke from a massive outbreak of wildfires in Canada is drifting south into the eastern United States this week, and some of it is expected to reach North Carolina — including the High Country — bringing hazy skies and potential air quality concerns through at least Friday.
More than 830 wildfires are currently burning across Canada, with the largest concentrations in west-central Ontario, northern Minnesota, and portions of Manitoba and Quebec. The fires are releasing enormous amounts of smoke that upper-level winds are pushing east and south across the Great Lakes region and into the northeastern United States. As of Wednesday morning, July 15, satellite imagery shows a thick smoke plume concentrated near the Virginia–North Carolina border.
For the High Country and the rest of western North Carolina, forecasters say the smoke will primarily remain in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere rather than settling at ground level — meaning the most significant impact will be hazy skies, reduced visibility, and potentially vivid sunrises and sunsets as light filters through the smoke particles. The heaviest ground-level air quality impacts are expected farther north and east, from the Great Lakes through New England and the Mid-Atlantic.
That said, anyone with asthma, respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, or other health sensitivities is advised to monitor air quality and consider limiting prolonged outdoor activity, particularly if skies become noticeably hazy. Wildfire smoke contains fine particles known as PM2.5 — particles small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream — which can trigger or worsen breathing problems and heart conditions even at lower concentrations.
The smoke is coinciding with a broad heat event across much of the eastern United States. Conditions are expected to slowly improve by the weekend as the weather pattern shifts, though forecasters caution that with more than 800 active fires still burning in Canada, additional smoke plumes are possible in the weeks ahead.
Residents can monitor current air quality conditions for Watauga County and the surrounding region at fire.airnow.gov, the EPA's free Fire and Smoke Map, which is updated in near real-time using satellite data.
