Smoky air from Canadian wildfires could improve over weekend

June 9 (UPI) -- Dangerous smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to plague the eastern United States on Friday, though forecasters expect conditions to improve over the weekend.

For much of the week, cities in the northeastern United States have been blanketed with unhealthy smoke produced by hundreds of wildfires burning in eastern Canada, where thousands have been ordered to evacuate.

The blazes early Friday had much of Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and New York under National Weather Service air quality alerts.

"Smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to be transported south by winds into the U.S. resulting in moderate to unhealthy air quality across parts of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley and Midwest on Friday," the National Weather Services said in a statement late Thursday.

In a Friday morning update, forecasters said that leading up to the weekend, wildfire smoke is expected to continue to plague the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic with reduced air quality as a low-pressure system pushes it over the region.

However, the potential for heavy rainfall over the weekend will allow for "much of the lingering wildfire smoke in the eastern U.S. to finally subside," it said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has urged residents to stay inside, even as conditions improve.

"Even if the air clears tomorrow, we will be prepared for the winds to change and the smoke to return," she tweeted late Thursday, while announcing that more New York forest rangers would be deployed to Canada on Friday to fight the blazes.

In New York City, officials have extended the Air Quality Health Advisory until the end of Friday.

"All New Yorkers should limit outdoor activity and stay inside when possible," the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a statement.

"Wear a high-quality mask (N95 or KN95) if you go outside."

With that emergency unfolding, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert urging New Yorkers to watch out for price gouging of essential goods, such as masks and purifiers.

"The poor air quality impacting our state should not be an excuse for companies to increase profits on essential items," she said in a statement earlier this week. "My office has zero tolerance for price gouging of any kind, and if New Yorkers notice abnormally high prices for essential items, I urge them to report it immediately."