Some workers in Toledo, Ohio, arrived at their jobs wearing masks on Thursday, as thick smoke and a burning smell enveloped the city, which was reporting some of the country’s worst air quality.
Toledo, which sits along the Michigan-Ohio border, at one point registered an Air Quality Index of more than 600, because of wildfires to the north; anything over 300 is considered hazardous. The smoke was bad enough to cause headaches and burning eyes, and it could have more serious health effects.
Some people took time to snap photographs of clouded downtown streets, which appeared emptier than normal under a slightly orange sky.
“It’s that smoky, eerie feel,” said Jason Christen, a manager at an architecture and engineering firm, who still ventured out on a walk around lunchtime. He struck an optimistic note, saying he expected the smoke would soon blow elsewhere.
Along the Maumee River, which cuts through Toledo, the parks were largely empty, though one man strolled by with his dog. One of the city’s most notable spans, the Skyway Bridge, was not visible from just a mile and a half away, shrouded in smoke.
Most of those who were outside were workers, including a group of at least half a dozen construction employees at a job site by the waterfront.
Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency issued an air quality advisory for the entire state, beginning at 7 a.m. on Thursday and ending “once conditions improve.”
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