Haze settles over Butler, Code Red issued for Wednesday
From the view on Main Street hill, the lights of Butler City were dimmed by a thick cloud of haze Wednesday, June 28.
The Department of Environmental Protection issued a Code Red Air Quality Action Day declaration Wednesday, saying smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to pollute air quality with fine particulate matter.
Children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems like asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the air pollution and should avoid outdoor activities during a Code Red alert.
All others should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion, the DEP said.
Butler County’s air quality index measured at 244, which is considered “very unhealthy,” at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, according to airnow.gov.
Other counties affected by the Code Red alert include: Erie, Warren, McKean, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Forest, Elk, Lawrence, Clarion, Armstrong, Jefferson, Clearfield, Indiana, Cambria, Beaver, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Washington, Greene, Fayette and Somerset.
Later Tuesday, the entire state was listed under a Code Red alert.
