air quality plummets as wildfire smoke hits alaska\'s most populous cities

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters)-
Smoke and soot from the fires in central Alaska caused the Arctic city of Fairbanks to suffer the world\'s worst air pollution in recent days, forcing many residents to stay indoors, and prompted a hospital to set up a \"clean air shelter \".
\"Over the past two weeks, the fine particulate matter carried by the smoke has entered the Fairbanks Polaris region at more than twice the lowest level considered harmful to human health, said Nick Czarnecki, city air quality manager.
The autonomous city reported that it once again exceeded the dangerous threshold on Tuesday in the Arctic Fairbanks suburb.
This problem is mainly related to two fires on both sides of the Fairbanks area since June 21.
Alaska second
The metropolitan area has the largest population, with a total population of about 97,000.
Shovel Creek and Nuggets fires triggered by lightning strikes have burned nearly 20,000 acres (8,094 hectares)
The fire department says the sum of wood and bushes.
Further north, the huge Hess Creek Fire, also triggered by lightning, has spread nearly 173,000 acres (70,000 hectares)
Remote timber and grasslands make it the largest timber and grassland in the United States. S.
According to Sarah Wheeler, a spokesman for the fire command, wildfires have occurred so far this year.
The smoke drifting into Fairbanks prompted an air quality alert to warn that outdoor sports are harmful to health and to urge seniors, very young people and people with breathing problems to limit exposure by staying indoors.
This limit is difficult for some because in Fairbanks, 200 miles (322 km)
Off the road south of the Arctic Circle, with air conditioning, the region\'s heat wave pushed temperatures to 80 degrees and 90 degrees.
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital opened-the-clock clean-
Air chamber, the public can find breathing opportunities from pollution.
A car store in Fairbanks is also giving away breathing masks to help residents cope.
\"All the HEPA filters and everything is sold out in town and the smoke is terrible,\" said Michelle Peiping, an employee at Pearson motor . \".
Residents of Anchorage, Alaska\'s largest city, face a similar but less terrible dilemma, about 350 miles from Anchorage (560 km)
In the south, smoke from the raging fires of the neighboring Kennai National Wildlife sanctuary over the past month has caused unhealthy air.
The Swan Lake fire has burned nearly 97,000 acres (39,200 hectares)
Since being triggered by lightning in June 5, part of the Kenai Peninsula.
Anchorage is also baked at unusually high temperatures, the hottest three days of the past week, including the city\'s firstever 90-
Fahrenheit (32 Celsius)
Read it on July 4.
The record heat has only increased Alaska\'s overall distress index, with about 40 fires burning more than 810,000 acres, according to the national inter-agency fire Center (32,780 hectares)
The whole state.
Wildfire has consumed more than 1 million acres of land.
404,685 hectares)
So far this year, it all pales in comparison to record 6.
5 million acres (2.
6 million hectares)
Fires broke out across Alaska in 2004.