Wildfire smoke drifted across Southeast Michigan Wednesday night and a smoky, hazy sky resulting from fine particulate pollution was clearly visible by daybreak on Thursday. 

All of Michigan is under an air quality alert through Friday. 

The air was so bad early Thursday in Southeast Michigan that Detroit was listed as having the worst air quality in the world in the IQAir database, well into the “hazardous” range, topping even Toronto, Canada, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The smoke plume from hundreds of wildfires in Canada and Minnesota began crossing into Northern Michigan during the day on Wednesday. By midnight Wednesday, the MiAir database showed significantly deteriorating air quality in Southeast Michigan. 

The CBS News Detroit weather team has declared Thursday and Friday to be NEXT Weather Alert Days, stepping up forecasts and announcements as needed. 

How bad is the air? 

The MiAir database run by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy showed air quality numbers well over the “very unhealthy” range in multiple locations in Metro Detroit early Thursday. EGLE says that the readings on Thursday morning were the highest seen for Detroit since at least 2023, during a scenario when wildfire smoke drifted over Michigan.

Other communities in Michigan, including Lansing, Flint and Grand Rapids saw readings at or above the very unhealthy range early Thursday. 

How can this affect your health?

Dr. Herb Aronow, the chair of heart and vascular health at Henry Ford Health, says unhealthy air affects everyone with heart and vascular diseases, even those who haven’t been diagnosed yet.

Even healthy people may notice eye irritation or difficulty breathing during prolonged outdoor activity. 

How widespread is the smoke? 

It’s not just Michigan facing air quality issues. Several states are or will be in the path of the wildfire smoke plume. 

Some of the wildfires feeding the smoke plume are in Minnesota, where much of the state is under an air quality alert. 

An air quality alert called for the Chicago area was aggravated by wildfire smoke drifting into the region. 

Pennsylvania will be under a code red air quality alert on Thursday, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection says. 

And the entire state of Ohio was placed under an air quality alert for Thursday as air quality readings may reach the unhealthy stage, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said. 

What does this mean for summer events and programs? 

The combination of poor air quality rising on the heels of a heat wave in Metro Detroit resulted in several summer school and community program closures for Thursday. 

When will Detroit get a break from the smoke? 

A cold front will move through Southeast Michigan Thursday night into Friday, bringing cooler temperatures, lower humidity, and a shift in winds that should gradually push the wildfire smoke out of the region and improve air quality heading into the weekend. 

The above video originally aired on July 15, 2026.

• The Wisconsin Bike Federation employs high school students to provide free bike repairs in underserved Milwaukee neighborhoods.
• The mobile program aims to expand repair access for residents who may lack transportation or a local bike shop.
• Students gain hands-on mechanical skills and are paid $15 per hour for their work.

On a typical summer day, Tanysia Kelley pedals a cargo bike loaded with tools and supplies to parks and libraries across Milwaukee.

Kelley, a junior at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, is one of three high schoolers working this summer for the Wisconsin Bike Federation to repair bikes for free in underserved neighborhoods. On a scorching July afternoon, Kelley and her fellow mechanics set up shop in the shade at Emigh Playfield, on Milwaukee’s south side, where a steady queue of riders waited for the team to fix their flat tires, loose chains and worn-out brake pads.

For Kelley, the best part of the job is giving back to the community and watching them ride away with a bike she worked on herself.

“I love seeing all the kids come over and getting their bikes fixed,” she said as she adjusted the seat of a bike with a wrench. “Yesterday, we fixed this little boy’s bike with his brakes, and he just started zooming all over the park.”

Toni Casagrande, the program’s manager and lead mechanic, said the goal of the program is to expand access to repair services in communities that lack bike shops while giving teens hands-on mechanical skills. The nonprofit Wisconsin Bike Federation pays the students $15 per hour, trains them to perform minor repairs and provides each with a cargo bike for transportation.

Casagrande said the team expects to repair about 300 to 400 bikes by the end of the summer. The program particularly focuses on Clarke Square, Layton Boulevard West, Harambee, Lindsay Heights and other low-income neighborhoods where residents may face transportation barriers. Over 40% of residents in the City of Milwaukee do not drive, according to a county service assessment released last year.

A majority of riders who used the Wisconsin Bike Federation’s mobile repair service last year were people of color, according to the program’s annual report.

The mobile bike repair program launched in 2014. Jake Newborn, assistant director of the Wisconsin Bike Federation, said the organization had long brought bikes and education programs into Milwaukee Public Schools, but staff noticed some families stopped using their bikes when they lacked access to a nearby bike shop or couldn’t afford repairs.

After moving from North Division High School, the program’s main base is now at Bradley Tech High School, where students learn to identify issues through a a 30-point bike inspection. The most common repairs include replacing brake pads, tubes, tires and chains, using both new and recycled parts from donated bikes.

“Many of these are pretty significant repairs,” Casagrande said. “People are often surprised by what we can do with the setup we have, given that it all just fits in a cargo bicycle.”

Kelley said she had no prior mechanic experience – or even a bike – before starting the job. Now she finds herself biking everywhere and is confident in her skills. After returning one rider’s repaired bike, Kelley received a $20 tip. She said some participants also offer donations to the Wisconsin Bike Federation after receiving repairs.

“Most of them are very grateful,” Kelley said. “We’re really trying to help people.”

Casagrande said many students end up pursuing jobs in mechanics once the program is complete. After the summer, Kelley said, she wants to learn how to fix cars or pursue opportunities with other local bike organizations.

For now, she’s happy spending her summer helping neighbors get back on their bikes.

“I really like doing work to feel accomplished in the end,” Kelley said. “I’ll work on things for a really long time just to feel confident, so this is the perfect job for me.”

A federal lawsuit raises questions about the culture at a prior job of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s nominee for fire chief.

In those court documents, there are allegations of harassment and discrimination in an East Coast fire department during Reginald Freeman’s time there as chief.

The city is not commenting on this lawsuit, saying it was filed several years ago, doesn’t mention Freeman and concerns allegations involving a different city and state.

Mayor Frey had high praise for Freeman as he announced him as his choice for the chief’s position in May.

Frey nominates Reginald Freeman to be next Minneapolis fire chief

“The kind of leadership that he brings to the table is second to none,” the mayor declared at the time.

But a 2022 lawsuit raises questions about Freeman’s time as fire chief in Hartford, Connecticut.

“It should always be an open process,” says Paul Ostrow, a former Minneapolis City Council president. “It should always be one where the legislative body has the information they need to properly vet the executive’s appointment.”

Two female firefighters filed that federal lawsuit against the City of Hartford, saying they were “harassed and discriminated against by their employer because of their sex and/or race.”  

The document also says, “nearly every female who rose to the ranks of lieutenant or higher either filed an internal complaint of harassment and discrimination — or tragically, surrendered their promotion in order to avoid the hostility of the executive-level fire chiefs.”

It doesn’t mention Freeman specifically or accuse him of any wrongdoing.

But the lawsuit includes allegations of mistreatment while he was leading the department between 2016 and 2021.

We asked Ostrow: “Is it reasonable to say that the chief, the fire chief, would have known about this?”

“I think it’s reasonable to conclude that as chief, he would know about these things,” he says. “Certainly, that he should have known about these things.”

Ostrow calls the allegations “troubling.”

The nomination is now set for a public hearing next week.

We wondered if all of this should be part of the discussion.

“It should be,” Ostrow says. “The most important question I would ask, number one: ‘Was this disclosed to the mayor or the search team?’”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with the mayor’s office late Wednesday night.

They told us again they’re not commenting on the lawsuit.

We’re still working to get a comment from Freeman himself.