Minnesota emergency rooms see uptick in patients due to wildfire smoke

Canadian wildfire smoke has become so intense that even young, healthy Minnesotans are experiencing symptoms similar to allergies.

"This morning I woke up and I was just like, oh, I have COVID," said Cameron Dailey-Ruddy, 34, of Minneapolis.

He took two COVID tests Tuesday morning — both negative — and everyone at his staff meeting reported sore throats and headaches. He realized the unhealthy air spanning Minnesota made him sick: the equivalent, he said, of "breathing in exhaust fumes."

"It's so hard to shift your mindset ... It should be treated like a thunderstorm or a tornado and shelter in place," he said, instead of thinking "it tastes weird outside" and going about life as normal.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said the plume of wildfire smoke that hit the state this week is unprecedented in its timing and severity.

"This is the type of wildfire intensity that you would expect probably in July or August," said David Brown, air quality meteorologist with the MPCA. "It's possible that some people could still be getting caught off guard this early."

Some hospitals in Minnesota are seeing more patients experiencing complications from the smoke, starting in the northwestern part of the state and moving south.

The ER at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center saw an increase Sunday and Monday in "respiratory and cardiac visits due to effects of the smoke," said Jillian Johnson, spokesperson for Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota.

At Children's Minnesota primary care clinics in the metro area, more kids were brought in Monday and Tuesday with asthma symptoms.

"This has included patients who rarely have asthma exacerbations but seem to currently have symptoms triggered by the air quality changes," spokesperson Nick Petersen said in a statement.

Other metro-area hospitals said it could be days before patients can no longer tolerate or manage breathlessness on their own.

There is about a two-day lag in hospital visit data, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. MDH epidemiologist Tess Konen said in a statement that the agency "is actively monitoring for a possible increase in respiratory emergency room visits both statewide and in heavily impacted regions, including Northwest Minnesota."

In Roseau and East Grand Forks near the Canadian border, the most severe "maroon" hazardous air quality alert was issued Monday, and a "very unhealthy" alert covered central Minnesota. The unhealthy air moved south to the Twin Cities on Tuesday.

It was the first maroon alert issued since 2021. Brown said wildfire smoke events since then have affected sensitive groups with pre-existing conditions, and that's always how the agency framed its messaging.

But this smoke is heavier and having a wider impact, largely due to the wildfires this spring being bigger and much closer to Minnesota as they burn in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

"Smoke in Minnesota can get heavy enough to where it does cause more severe health impacts and affects a much broader portion of the population, even healthy individuals," Brown said. "It's possible that it can get very, very unhealthy for everyone."

Brown said the MPCA doesn't collect data on health effects or hospitalizations, but he knew anecdotally that people on social media are sharing widespread symptoms like burning throat or mild asthma.

After a few rounds of wildfire alerts in recent years, some patients with asthma and COPD have gotten better at heeding alerts, staying indoors and wearing masks if they go out, said Dr. Rachel Strykowski, a pulmonary/lung specialist at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.

Others struggle along until they can no longer manage their symptoms and need treatment, often steroid medications to reduce the swelling and inflammation constricting their breathing, Strykowski said.

"You know, it's the time of year where most patients actually have less allergens, right? They're being less triggered by their asthma because we're getting out of the spring and it's summertime," she said. "So it's unfortunate that now this new wildfire smoke comes in and that air quality is worse and so again our vulnerable populations are being triggered."

Tuesday morning's rain didn't offer a reprieve, she added, because high humidity can be a trigger for some people.

The smoke levels Tuesday were comparable to 2023, when the state had its poorest air quality reading on record.

Chucks Brands, 70, moved to the Brainerd Lakes area from Georgia that summer and noticed an unfamiliar charcoal fleck over the skins of apples on his tree from wildfires.

Now he knows what to expect when the Canadian haze settles in. His doctor encourages him to monitor his pulse and blood oxygen level.

His pulse was higher and blood oxygen level lower than usual after doing yardwork Sunday and Monday. Brands said his slight to moderate COPD got worse. He was short of breath and light-headed.

"I was getting dizzy," he said. "I'd walk out to the mailbox and halfway back I'd have to lean over and put my hands on my knees."

He postponed yardwork and got N95 masks handy for when he had to go outside again.

If you're experiencing mild symptoms of wildfire smoke exposure, be sure to rest, hydrate and soothe your throat with cough drops. Those with more severe symptoms should seek medical attention.

The MPCA's Brown said everyone should limit exertion, both indoors and outdoors, during wildfire events.

Typically, Canada's wildfire season runs from July 1 through the end of September.

The next chance for wildfire smoke is as early as this Sunday, Brown said.

"It's going to take a while for those fires to die down."

As of Tuesday, more than 200 wildfires were burning, including 74 in British Columbia, 55 in Alberta, 17 in Saskatchewan and 26 in Manitoba, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Cleaner air has moved into northwestern Minnesota where air quality alerts have been dropped, but the remainder of the state continues under advisories until midday Wednesday.

A cold front combined with rain in parts of the state helped clean the air, and the improving trend will continue as the worst air in four years moves out.

The long-range forecast calls for warmer than normal conditions across Canada through August.

Minnesota Star Tribune staff writer Tim Harlow contributed to this report.