Michigan saw at least $4 billion in economic losses from wildfire smoke, study says

The wildfire smoke that blanketed part of the U.S. for days resulted in $4 billion in economic losses in Michigan alone, a new study says.

The Anderson Economic Group issued an analysis on Thursday, citing the public park and amusement park closures, cancellation of events, slower traffic to businesses that rely on outdoor services and the number of workers who needed medical attention due to the circumstances.  

The wildfire smoke drifted from fires raging in Canada and Northern Minnesota.  

Metro Detroit alone faced six consecutive days of air quality alerts from July 15 through July 20. The air in Detroit on July 16 and 17 ranked among the worst in the world, with readings well above an unhealthy range. In response, dozens of closings and reschedulings were announced for outdoor events, summer camps, splash pad schedules and summer school schedules. 

New York state experienced about $5 billion in losses; Michigan saw more than $4 billion in losses and Wisconsin nearly $2 billion in losses from the smoke and air quality, the agency said. 

And that's just a preliminary estimate, as analysts continue to collect data and expect to issue an update including more states in the coming days. 

"We can already observe closures and reduced activity at parks, businesses serving customers in the open air, health clubs, and other locations where people would otherwise be exercising, relaxing, dining, working, or just enjoying the outdoors," said Richard Melstrom, an environmental economist at Anderson Economic Group. "Our preliminary estimates, based on early data, indicate these losses total in the many billions of dollars."