[BARC-List] L.A. smog in Boston

[Dan Malloy]

Hello to all,
    Most of you have seen something on today's strange WX, either from
NOAA or a comercial source. CBC has a story on the fires themselves, in
N. Quebec:

Quebec fires out of control, but haze
                clearing in Ontario
                Last Updated Sun, 07 Jul 2002 18:39:07

                MONTREAL - Hundreds of people remain out of their
                homes in northern Quebec as crews battle forest fires
                that could be smelled as far away as Ontario and New
                York State on the weekend.

                     INDEPTH: Fighting Fires

                The weather forecast promises little relief for
                firefighters. No rain is expected until at least
Tuesday.
                But a shift in the winds helped clear smoky skies in
                eastern Ontario on Sunday.

                Since it was sparked by lightning last Tuesday, the
                Nemiscau fire has destroyed 600 square kilometres of
                forest. It's been moving at a pace of 50 metres a
                minute, closing all roads into the area near James Bay.

                Nemaska, a village home to 500 Cree, has been
                evacuated.

                Close to 50 fires have been raging in the northern part
                of the province since July 2, when severe
                thunderstorms left behind a trail of wildfires.

                The Quebec forest protection service says the
                situation is critical, and no rain is expected before
                Tuesday.

                Chantal Drapeau of the fire protection service said
                there are 11 fires out of control, fanned by strong
                winds.

                The blazes have been sending up thick blankets of
                smoke that have kept fire officials from flying planes
                into the area.

                Those billows of smoke were blown south for more
                than 1,000 kilometres into eastern and central
                Ontario, even into parts of New York and
                Pennsylvania.

                Visibility in Toronto was
                reduced to less than three
                kilometres on Saturday.
                Farther east, the smoke
                also choked the Kingston
                and Ottawa areas.

                "The most dense area of
                smoke that's been in the
                province of Ontario today
                has been in the Parry
                Sound Muskoka area across Algonquin and right up to
                North Bay-Nipissing," said Environment Canada
                meteorologist Arnold Ashton. "They've hardly seen the
                sun today because it's been a grey overcast of this
                smoky pall."

                On Sunday morning, the dense haze blew back into
                Quebec, and Montrealers woke up to what looked like
                Los Angeles smog.

                As the winds continued to shift, the haze began lifting
                in Ontario.

                Written by CBC News Online staff