Many people in the Greater Boston area woke up to the smell of smoke Monday — and brush fires burning on the North Shore and across Massachusetts were likely to blame.
More than 80 acres were burning in Salem, and that was just one of the dozens of fires in the state. Meanwhile, there were reports of a smoky smell and haze in the Boston area.
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We spoke to people who were searching their house, their cars and even their neighbors' yards for the source of the fire.
"It permeated our house," Needham resident Susan Galvin said.
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An inversion formed in the atmosphere overnight and trapped the smoke near the ground, according to the NBC10 Boston First Alert meteorologists. This effectively seals the smoke at the lowest levels of the atmosphere where it can seep into nearby towns and cities.
"It was a literal lid on the atmosphere that kept whatever smoke around us, it kept it on top of us," meteorologist Tevin Wooten said.
Poor air quality is to be expected around any of these fires. Along with the smoke, inversions trap pollutants in the air, said Jennifer Stowell, of the Boston University School of Public Health.
"The biggest concern is for people who already have underlying conditions," she said, adding that wildfire smoke has been shown to carry more pollutants.
She urged people to keep an eye on the air quality index.
Other blazes were reported over the weekend as conditions remain dry, including in Millbury, where a woman died at an encampment, Middleton, Canton and Beverly. In Connecticut, crews continue to fight a massive blaze known as the Hawthorne fire. Fire risk remains elevated across much of New England.
A breeze was expected to clear up the smell Monday, but there was a possibility it would return Monday night.
