harmful Wildfire smoke has now tinted the skies across the state in some areas it's a rare neon orange for the second day New Jersey is engulfed in the haze carried by air currents from massive wildfires hundreds of miles away in Canada State Environmental officials issued a code red for air quality about 98 million people in 18 states from New Hampshire to South Carolina are under air quality alerts from the smoke Public Health authorities are urging people to stay inside with windows closed especially the young elderly and anyone with a hard or lung condition the State Department of Environmental Protection expects the smoke to linger and pour air quality to persist at least through Thursday many schools have canceled outdoor activities and earlier today the smoke forced the FAA to order a ground delay at Newark Airport due to visibility concerns meanwhile Wildfire burning in Ocean County New Jersey is adding to the issue it spread to more than 70 Acres but Flames are now 70 percent contained only 15 nearby structures remain in danger Greg Pope a wildfire researcher at Montclair State University said this year's active fire season stems from a dry winter we know we had a kind of a record low lack of snow in our region as did a lot of the Northeast New England states as did Canada the lack of snow and kind of the current dryness and warmer temperatures have made the Fire season start early [Music] [Music]