Al Gore would say it’s the percentage of gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs driven by North Dakotans, but it’s actually those darn Canadians. You see, this isn’t smog…it’s Metric smoke from the fires burning in northern Saskatchewan. The natural wind currents bring it down across the upper Midwest region of the United States, which means we’re now in the smoking section for a while. If you’ve had headaches the past couple of days like I have, this is likely the reason why. People with allergies and asthma are going to have a fun ride.

Apparently the Canadians have their own version of FEMA as they’re not seeing a whole lot of response in the area and are crying out for more help. It can’t be a lot of fun to fight a raging forest fire on the border of the Northern Territories, so I bet they’ve got their hands full.

In the meantime, it’s going to be a bit hazy as long as the wind brings the smoke in our direction. It makes for some neat sunsets but the haze brings more problems than anything else.