Wildfires in Canada bring hazy skies to Chicago area

May 31-- May 31--Hazy skies Friday in Chicago were the result of smoke from wildfires in Canada, the National Weather Service reports, according to the National Weather Service.

The dust and other particles go into the atmosphere and travel south and east in upper-level winds, according to Amy Seeley, a meteorologist with the weather service's Chicago office.

Seeley said the milky-looking sky is not related to the time of year. It's something that can happen at any time when a large wildfire is burning.

The haze stems from northern Alberta, where more than two dozen fires are burning. More than 10,000 people have been forced from their homes. Alberta fire authorities report the largest blaze, about 450 miles north of Edmonton, has burned 887 square miles of land and remained out of control as of Friday morning.

The smoke from the fires is causing air quality issues in the province as well as in neighboring areas of the United States, including Montana.

In north central Alberta, a cluster of wildfires has placed residents on evacuation notice. In the northwest, the "out-of-control" Chuckegg Creek wildfire forced 5,000 people to leave their homes last week, the report said.

As for here in Chicago, "it just makes for pretty sunrises and sunsets," Seeley said.

The Associated Press contributed.

nstock@chicagotribune.com

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