Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
Ottawa·Photos

Smoky haze blankets Ottawa as wildfires burn

Here are photos of the smoky haze that has enveloped Ottawa due to the nearby forest fires.

Nearby forest fires lead to poor air quality, smoky haze surrounding Ottawa

CBC News ·

Drone footage shows the haze over Ottawa's skyline caused by wildfires

1 year ago
Duration 0:43
Smoke covers the Ottawa skyline Tuesday as forest fires continue to burn in Ontario and Quebec. (Felix Desroches/CBC)

A blanket of smoky haze has covered much of Ottawa as forest fires burn across parts of Quebec and Ontario.

The fires have filled the air with fine particulate matter that makes it unhealthy to breathe, while casting an eerie pall over the sky. Environment Canada says the poor air quality could last throughout most of the week.

  • Have a photo or video to share?  Send us an email.

And the flames are hitting closer to home, as a wildfire remains out of control at Centennial Lake in Greater Madawaska, Ont., just 170 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa.

For those heeding public health advice to reduce exposure, here are photos and videos that show the conditions outside.

A woman walks her dog by a river, while smoke from wildfires obscures the buildings across the body of water.
Someone walks a dog along the Ottawa River in Ottawa as smoke from wildfires obscures Gatineau, Que., in the distance on Tuesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
A legislature silhouetted by a red-looking sun and brown smoke.
Smoke from wildfires in Ontario and Quebec over Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
A view of some highrises on the edge of a city's downtown and wildfire smoke obscuring the view beyond it.
A view from a drone of the area west of Ottawa's LeBreton Flats on Tuesday. (Félix Desroches/CBC)
A city skyline
A view of downtown Ottawa from Gatineau, Que., as wildfire smoke blankets the city on June 6. (Arthur White-Crummey/CBC)
A view of some highrises on the edge of a city's downtown and wildfire smoke obscuring the view beyond it.
A view from a drone of Ottawa's LeBreton Flats and areas further west on Tuesday. (Félix Desroches/CBC)
People walk across an intersection with buildings behind them obscured by smoky sky due to wildfires
Pedestrians walk across Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa on Tuesday. Ottawa's air quality is so bad that it cracked through the top of a risk scale that morning. (Mathieu Theriault/Radio-Canada)
Brown smoke over a city street.
Wildfire smoke blankets Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday. (Dan Taekema/CBC)
Brown smoke over a city street and water tower.
Wildfire smoke blankets Kingston on Tuesday. All of eastern Ontario and western Quebec are under some sort of air quality advisory. (Dan Taekema/CBC)
Brown smoke over a lake next to a city with two large white boats on it.
Wildfire smoke obscures the view off Lake Ontario next to downtown Kingston on Tuesday. (Dan Taekema/CBC)
Two people look at an information board on a very hazy day in a city.
People read an information placard as wildfire smoke covers the skyline in Ottawa-Gatineau on Monday, when there were also local air quality advisories. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)
A boat on a smoky river near a legislature.
The Ottawa River and Parliament Hill covered in wildfire smoke on Monday. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)
A firefighter carries equipment through a blackened forest.
South Frontenac Fire & Rescue were one of the services helping fight the forest fire near Centennial Lake in eastern Ontario's Township of Greater Madawaska. (South Frontenac Fire & Rescue/Facebook)

Flames visible from the water as forest fire burns west of Ottawa

1 year ago
Duration 0:47
Dozens of homes have been evacuated in the Township of Greater Madawaska after a forest fire broke out Sunday afternoon.

Watch a water bomber fly over the flames near Centennial Lake

1 year ago
Duration 0:24
Water bombers and helicopters are part of ongoing firefighting efforts to put out a forest fire in the Township of Greater Madawaska.

Watch as smoke rises over Centennial Lake in Greater Madawaska

1 year ago
Duration 0:25
A forest fire broke out in eastern Ontario's Township of Greater Madawaska Sunday afternoon according to Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. (Greg Carruthers)
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News
Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|

Related Stories

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

The bright spot in your inbox. Stay connected to the city you love with The Highlight, delivered monthly.

...

The next issue of The Highlight will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in the Subscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.