Detroit cancels outdoor activities due to 'unprecedented' air quality conditions

DETROIT (FOX 2) - City of Detroit leaders revealed the game plan for its Air Quality Alert response on Friday, including precautionary measures for residents and employees.

Detroit air quality

Big picture view:

As smoke from the Canadian wildfires continues to blanket the region, Mayor Mary Sheffield announced measures the city was taking to help residents. 

Timeline:

Just prior to Sheffield's press conference, the Air Quality Alert was extended through Saturday.

What they're saying:

"The Air Quality Index has reached hazardous levels, making this one of the most significant air quality events our city has experienced in recent years," she said. "Today we want to really reiterate to residents, and Detroiters overall, to please take this seriously."

All city-wide events scheduled for Friday and Saturday have been canceled. Included in that, is the Occupy the Summer programming for Friday and Saturday. 

Sheffield said that city officials will monitor the situation for Sunday with a wait-and-see approach regarding the air quality conditions.

Non-essential city workers are being allowed to work from home for the time being, Sheffield said.

Detroit recreation centers have been opened to the public as respite locations, and all sites will have masks available for free. 

Dig deeper:

"If you do have to go outside, please wear a mask, but try to limit activity outside," Sheffield said. "We know that right now, air quality is hazardous for everyone, not just sensitive populations. And so we want to encourage residents to, stay in their home, if possible."

Michigan air quality

Chief Public Health Officer Ali Abazeed said the Air Quality Index numbers for Michigan - of which the hazardous ranking begins at 301, has never been this bad before.

IQAir ranked Detroit with the worst air quality in the world Friday morning:

• Detroit (438)
• Chicago (382)
• Washington, D.C. (257)
• New York (175)
• Toronto (172)
• Jakarta, Indonesia (159)

Detroit's air ranked worst in the world yesterday as well, alongside several other Midwestern cities including Minneapolis and Chicago. 

"In some parts of the city we saw numbers above 600," he said. "In some parts of South Michigan, we saw numbers exceeding 7800. This is unprecedented. We've never had air quality this poor before due to the Canadian wildfires. And so we want people to know is that, again, hazardous for everyone."

More coverage:

• Detroit air quality ranked worst in world again Friday
• When will Michigan skies clear? Wildfire smoke could depart temporarily

Dr. Robert Dunne, the public safety medical director, said respiratory complaint EMS calls went up on Thursday. 

"We provided patient care in the 350 range, but 80 of those were for respiratory complaints, where on a more typical day, we would see 40 to 50 respiratory complaints," he said. "Obviously, respiratory disease is pretty common, but this type of air quality, that is really the first symptom."

The city is also performing wellness checks and masks for 110 senior buildings in the city of Detroit, with the help of Wayne County Emergency Management, said Bryan Peckinpaugh from the Department of Neighborhoods.

"We're keeping our eye on wellness checks and masks for 110 senior buildings in the city of Detroit," je said. "Most of them are in the district five area, but we're making sure that all across the city, we have contact with those buildings and they have mask resources as well as health and wellness information that they have. 

Residents who need help can refer to the Detroit Housing Resource Helpline at (866) 313-2520.  

Detroit