AIR QUALITY ADVISORY: Wildfire smoke prompts expanded warning [Video]

WEST MICHIGAN — The smoke from wildfires in western Canada prompted an air quality advisory to expand across the entire state of Michigan on Friday.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy issued the change just before noon.

Wildfires in the Manitoba Providence of Canada are releasing a large amount of smoke into the atmosphere, which is being carried into the Great Lakes region by a cold front. Forecast models call for the heaviest smoke levels to hit West Michigan Friday afternoon into the evening.

Smoke will be riding in along and behind a cold front, which looks to bring isolated showers and storms Friday afternoon. But rain has trended lighter, in part to the smoke limiting moisture in the atmosphere as the front dips south.

Smoke levels are expected to reach a point that could be unhealthy for sensitive groups, including people with heart or lung disease, …