Chicago beaches and outdoor pools reopen as wildfire smoke begins to clear and air quality improves

A day after suffering through the worst air quality in the world on Thursday, thick smoke from Canadian wildfires has been gradually clearing out of the Chicago area throughout the day on Friday, prompting the Chicago Park District to reopen the city's beaches and outdoor pools.

Canada wildfire smoke was still hanging over the city on Friday morning and the Air Quality Index still ranked the city at hazardous levels, over 400. But there is some encouraging news. That smoke started moving in the late morning and early afternoon, with skies expected to clear in time for the festivals and events planned for the weekend to go on. As of 2:45 p.m., Chicago's AQI measured at 102, according to iqair.com, placing it in the category of unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Friday afternoon, the Chicago Park District announced all beaches had reopened as of 2:45 p.m. All outdoor pools will reopen with their regular operating schedule at 3 p.m.

All Chicago Park District programming would continue to be held indoors on Friday, with frequent water breaks. The Osaka Garden, and both the Garfield Park Conservatory and Lincoln Park Conservatory will remain closed for the day, but reopen as normal on Sasturday.

All Night Out in the Parks and Movies in the Parks events have been canceled for Friday.

Even before the beaches officially reopened, some people were at the lakefront to get into Lake Michigan. Nick Saunders and his son, Jaren, who turns 6 years old on Tuesday, came all the way from St. Louis to honor their annual tradition.

"He want to go to the beach every year for his birthday, so Chicago the nearest beach to us technically. We're in St. Louis, so a four-hour or five-hour drive," Nick said. "It's something we're going to be looking forward to doing every year. This and more. We do more."

They spent some time on the beach, but cut it short knowing the air quality was less than ideal.

"He didn't want to hear about it. That's why we leaving. I told him, 'We'll come just, you know, for a short period, and then we're going to leave, and I think we had enough exposure at this point," Nick said.

Chicago Park District general superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa explained the decision to close the city's beaches and outdoor pools on Thursday.

"Initially, there was some question as to whether or not the pools and the beaches should remain open, but once it became clear that we were in that maroon category, that we had surpassed purple and we were now in the dangerous most extreme conditions, that's when the call was made," he said.

Once the smoke moved out, the Park District reopened the beaches and outdoor pools.

An Air Quality Alert remains in effect for Boone, McHenry, Lake, Cook, DuPage, DeKlab, Kane, La Salle, Kendall, Will, Grundy and Winnebago counties until midnight Friday night.

The Environmental Protection Agency told CBS News Chicago in a statement that the peak AQI values recorded in the Chicago area this week are higher than any AQI values reported in the past since reporting started in 1999, including during the Canadian wildfire smoke episodes in the summer of 2023. The EPA said before Thursday, the highest AQI value for PM2.5 — the type of particulate matter pollution caused by wildfire smoke — that had been reported in Chicago was 223 on June 27, 2023. 

Health officials are still urging people to stay inside, keep their windows closed and limit their outdoor activity until the AQI drops.

"You want to minimize your exposures when air pollution is bad. So if you are healthy and active, this is not the time you want to be exercising outdoors," said Dr. David Hill, former chair of the American Lung Association.    

Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor is closed for a second day, according to their website. 

The Morton Arboretum is closed Friday because of the air quality as well. 

The Cubs are set to play the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field Friday night, Taste of River North and Colombian Fest in Humboldt Park kick off this afternoon, and other festivals including West Fest, Roscoe Village Burger Fest and Tacos y Tamales are all expected to welcome thousands of visitors. So far none have altered their plans.

City officials said they continue to monitor air quality while encouraging anyone with heart or lung conditions, young children, senior citizens and other people sensitive to air quality to avoid prolonged time outside.

If you have plans this weekend, the message at the moment isn't to cancel them but instead to stay informed. Check the air quality before you go out, consider wearing an N95 mask if you'll be outside for long periods and if you start to feel the effects of the smoke – including dizziness and fatigue – go inside.

How to keep the air in your home clean as wildfire smoke lingers

Sean Bacon, chief inspector and owner of Xcellence Inspection Services in Homewood, said with the remnants of wildfire smoke still lingering in the Chicago air, homeowners should check the filters on their air conditioning systems to make sure they're clean.

"If you have a dirty filter, it's not going to capture the particles that you need to capture, especially with smoke particles that are happening now. You want to make sure that that filter is clean," he said.

Bacon said people should check filters in both central air conditioning systems and window air conditioning units.

"For most window AC units, you just remove the cover, and then you just take out the filter, and here's your filter here, and you just clean it, and then you just replace it, put it back in place," he said.

When it comes to people wanting to make sure the air inside their home is clean, hardware stores are seeing a surge in sales for one particular item – air purifiers.

"It's been challenging to not have what people are looking for," said Mark Molinaro, manager of JC Licht Ace Hardware in the Gold Coast neighborhood, where they're completely sold out.

Molinaro said they sold out of air purifiers in one day on Thursday at all seven stores in their company group.

"We tried to source from other locations and fulfill as many requests and needs as we could, but we've worked through virtually all of the inventory locally," he said.

Molinaro said they expect more air purifiers to be in stock by Wednesday next week.

Wildfire smoke and bad air quality return to Chicago over weekend

The Canadian government reported 24 new fires in the past 24 hours, which brings the total of burning locations to more than 900. More than 100 of those fires are considered "out of control" and that could mean more smoke could be blowing our way later this weekend.

In Minnesota, which also sent wildfire smoke into the Chicago area, fires are spreading near the Canadian border as well, officials said.

A study published this year found that long-term exposure to tiny particles from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states. Long-term exposure can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and premature death.