Wildfire Smoke Is Rolling Into Detroit

Hey friends, Jer here.

As I write this on the east side of the city, I can see the skies changing quickly as smoke from large wildfires in Canada and northern Minnesota is moving into metro Detroit tonight and will stick here through tomorrow.

More than 44,000 acres are on fire in Minnesota, and we're in for a bad time here in Michigan, too. [Planet Detroit]

A state air quality monitor near Marquette in the Upper Peninsula registered an air quality index of 955 Wednesday evening. The Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality index identifies levels above 300 as hazardous — the scale’s highest category.

Michigan regulators issued the statewide air quality alert for Wednesday, July 15 and Thursday, July 16 as Canadian wildfires near Lake Superior began to blanket the state with smoke.

These photos out of Toronto are wild and downright otherworldly. [BlogTO]

Here are some resources:

If you just want the big picture, AirNow lets you check air pollution at a glance and has interactive maps showing where the smoke is. [AirNow]

If you want to get super specific, locally‑based JustAir breaks air quality down to the neighborhood level with a network of monitors. [JustAir]

One of the weather sources I've been following lately is Michigan Storm Chasers, and they've been including wildfire smoke in their coverage. I keep their YouTube stream on in the background when I know things might go sideways. [MIStormChasers]

We plan on getting some photos tomorrow, but I'd love to see what it looks like from your block.

Email me at dailydetroit - at - gmail - dot - com and tell me if you're okay withe me sharing them out.

⚽️ Detroit City FC officially broke ground today on the new AlumniFi Field stadium at the former Southwest Detroit Hospital site at Michigan and 20th streets.

Personally, it was great to see so many people pumped about soccer in the city, and the addition of smoke flares like you'll see at DCFC matches is a nice touch.

The 15,000‑seat venue is part of a $198 million mixed‑use campus slated to open by spring 2028, with a parking deck, housing, and commercial space wrapping the stadium.

Backed in part by Jay Farner’s Ronin Sports & Entertainment Group and $88 million in brownfield TIF support, the project reinforces Detroit’s status as a major sports city... even if the Yzerplan didn't work.

On The Podcast

In case you need some local conversation to keep you company while you hunker down (or venture out), here's what we've been up to on the podcast.

🥬 Lettuce Is Off The Menu: A parasitic outbreak affecting thousands has Metro Detroit restaurants (including a number of Taco Bell locations) pulling lettuce and cilantro off the menu. Norris Howard joins me to get into what's happening and how cuts to disease surveillance on the federal level are slowing the response. [Apple Podcasts] [Daily Detroit]

🌃 Downtown Detroit Has Turned Into A True Weekend Destination: New data from Gensler’s City Pulse study shows Detroit leading the nation in downtown “stickiness,” and we dig into how downtown has become a destination. [Apple Podcasts] [Daily Detroit]

🛍️ Fairlane’s Uncertain Future, Greektown’s New Gateway, and Detroit Brands Head North: Devon O'Reilly joins me to talk about what’s next for a struggling Fairlane Town Center, a new pedestrian gateway into Greektown, and how Detroit-based businesses are finding new opportunities. [Apple Podcasts] [Daily Detroit]

Some Good News

Since we're staying inside, here are a couple things to check out.

🦍 A new baby gorilla was born over the weekend at the Detroit Zoo! She doesn't have a name yet. It's the second gorilla born in the zoo's history, and it's not only cute — but an important part of keeping this species going. [More pics on Daily Detroit]

🎶 I enjoyed this ESPN FC piece on "The Most Famous Seven Notes in Sports." It's about "Seven Nation Army" by Detroit's own Jack White, and how a soccer club from Belgium kicked off what became a global phenomenon. It includes an interview with White. [ESPN FC]

Bonus fun fact: There's a ton of Belgian-American history in Detroit. My granddad was a deacon at a church on the east side with a large Belgian congregation, and of course - The Cadieux Cafe and feather bowling (trabollen) over on Cadieux.

Double bonus: ICYMI, Jack has a new album "Frozen Charlotte."

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Thank you to everyone who's taken our Pew Political Topology survey so far. If you haven't yet, here's the link to participate. We'll be sharing the findings in a future edition of the newsletter and podcast.

As always, if you want to help us kick out more newsletter and podcast jams, become a member on Patreon. It's much appreciated.

Until next time, remember that you are somebody... and I'll see you around Detroit. Well, after the smoke clears.

-Jer