Air Quality & Wildfire News — July 21, 2026

Oregon is the center of the country's air-quality story today, with smog and wildfire smoke advisories stacked on top of each other and a round of thunderstorms that could make the fire season better or worse. Meanwhile, forecasters say Canadian smoke will keep returning to the Midwest and Northeast for weeks to come.

Oregon under smog and smoke advisories at the same time

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued a smog advisory for Salem, the Portland metro area, Hermiston and Ontario, with ozone expected to reach levels unhealthy for sensitive groups from July 21 through 8 p.m. July 22, as the Salem Statesman Journal reports. Ozone forms when heat and sunlight react with pollution from cars, gas engines and chemicals in paints and aerosols.

That advisory comes on top of a separate wildfire smoke advisory, first declared July 17 and since expanded, that now covers all or part of 11 counties in central, eastern and southern Oregon through the afternoon of July 22. Health officials recommend that children, pregnant people, older adults and people with heart or respiratory conditions limit outdoor activity while pollution is high.

Thunderstorms could be a turning point for Oregon's fire season

Oregon has 26 large wildfires burning and is currently the highest firefighting priority in the nation, the Salem Statesman Journal reports. The state has already burned 428,000 acres this year — more than in all of 2025 — much of it from a July 15 lightning burst that ignited about 70 fires in central Oregon.

Now the remnants of tropical storm Elida are expected to spark thunderstorms statewide on July 22. A red flag warning is in effect for southern and central Oregon: if the storms bring lightning with little rain, they could start new fires, while wetter storms could help. Fire crews are pre-positioning equipment so they can respond quickly either way.

Canadian smoke expected to return through August

More episodes of wildfire smoke are ahead for the Midwest and Northeast, UPI reports, because the weather pattern in the coming weeks is doing little to put out the fires. Western Ontario — the prime source of the smoke reaching the U.S. lately — has only sporadic rain in the forecast, with the next real chance this weekend.

Canada has 898 active wildfires, and 3,913 fires have burned about 3 million hectares there this year. In the U.S., 40,771 fires have burned more than 3.9 million acres so far in 2026. If you live in a smoke-prone area, it's a good stretch to keep an eye on your local air quality before planning long days outdoors.

South Carolina's Francis Marion fire reaches 10 percent containment

A wildfire burning in the Francis Marion National Forest near Shulerville, South Carolina since July 18 has grown to roughly 900 acres and is now 10 percent contained, the Charleston Post and Courier reports. About 90 firefighters are working the blaze, and officials are hopeful forecast rain will help extinguish it.

The fire is expected to keep producing smoke as vegetation smolders, and wind gusts up to 25 mph could spread that smoke around the area.

After the smoke clears, check your HVAC filter

With Northeast Ohio's recent smoke finally thinning, cleveland.com looked at EPA guidance on what smoke does to home air systems. The EPA doesn't call for automatically replacing your filter after every smoke episode — instead, it advises inspecting the filter, since heavy smoke can dirty it faster than usual, and replacing it if it looks heavily soiled.

That's a simple, worthwhile check anywhere smoke has lingered this month, especially if your filter was already near its normal replacement date.

California fire survivors push back on a utility-funded advocacy group

A group called Wildfire Victims First, which urges lawmakers to reduce the rising cost of wildfires, was created with money from California's three biggest for-profit electric utilities — Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric — the Los Angeles Times reports. Government investigators have found those utilities ignited at least six of the state's 20 most destructive fires.

The campaign has angered survivors, including families who lost homes in last year's Eaton fire, which killed 19 people. Survivor organizations wrote to Gov. Gavin Newsom this week objecting that the group's lobbying would shift wildfire costs away from the utilities and onto survivors, policyholders and taxpayers.

Sources

• Air quality now poor in most of Oregon as smog covers Salem, Portland — Salem Statesman Journal
• Red flag warning issued amid already-busy Oregon wildfire season — Salem Statesman Journal
• Canada wildfire smoke to be a periodic problem into August — UPI News
• Francis Marion fire still rages; Graham funeral services set — Charleston Post and Courier
• Should you change your HVAC filter after wildfire smoke? — cleveland.com
• Wildfire survivors angered as utility-funded group claims to represent them — Los Angeles Times

Canairy aggregates publicly reported air-quality and wildfire news and summarizes it in plain English, with links to the original sources. This is educational information, not medical or emergency advice. In a wildfire or air-quality emergency, follow guidance from local authorities.