Atlanta

Travelers visiting from up north grateful to escape hazy skies caused by Canadian wildfires

ATLANTA — Wildfires in Canada are causing hazy conditions in the northern US.

Residents of northern states can see and smell the smoke when they’re outside.

But here in Georgia, we can see it but fortunately not smell it.

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Gary Fedota is a big New York Mets fan in Atlanta to catch The Braves playing his favorite team.

One of the first things he did when he deplaned at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport was to take a deep breath.

“The air is definitely better here already,” Fedota said.

Fedota and others are seeing a deep, unnatural orange haze across New York caused by the massive wildfires burning in Canada.

“It hasn’t been very nice. It’s been very, it’s like being on Mars, I think is the best way I can describe it. Not that I’ve been there. It’s very orange and you can feel it. It’s not healthy,” Fedota said.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot spoke with Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brian Monahan and asked him how the haze is affecting north Georgia.

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He said it’s definitely coming from the Canadian smoke, but nothing like they’re experiencing up north.

“You might have noticed a little bit of haze in the sky over the last few days. It’s really thin, less concentration of the smoke here, so it’s not thick enough that we can smell it, but thick enough that you can see it,” Monahan said.

Elliot found Ingrid Cunningham and Jack Pennistone Wolfe getting ready for a picnic in Piedmont Park.

They were amazed to learn that haze is coming from Canada.

“I feel like it kind of shows how close everything is together,” Cunningham said. “When you hear about fires up north, not our problem. But when it comes all the way down here, it just shows what an impact that can have.”

Earlier today there were ground stops for flights in both New York and Philadelphia because of the excessive smoke.

But Atlanta airport officials said it isn’t causing any delays here.

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