Smoke from Canadian wildfires drifts into 5 US states

HELENA, Mont. – Smoke from large wildfires in Canada’s Alberta province has drifted into five U.S. states and is causing haze and air quality issues.

More than two dozen fires are burning in Alberta and 10,000 people have been forced from their homes.

The smoke has drifted into Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington state and Wyoming.

The government agency Alberta Wildfire reports the largest blaze is out of control about 450 miles (733 kilometres) north of Edmonton and has burned 887 square miles (2,300 square kilometres) of land.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rated Helena’s air quality as unhealthy Friday morning while the air quality in the Montana cities of Great Falls and Lewistown was rated as unhealthy for sensitive groups such as people with asthma or heart disease.