UPDATED, Wednesday 6 p.m.: The North Carolina Division of Air Quality Forecast Center has issued a Code Orange air quality alert for all of northeastern North Carolina on Thursday, due to fine particulates in the atmosphere as smoke continues to drift into the region from wildfires out west.
Code Orange conditions mean children, active people, older adults, and those with heart or lung disease, like asthma, should limit prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
At least 80 active wildfires across 13 states have burned just over a million acres so far, with even more widespread fires in central Canada. The largest, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, has burned more than 530 square miles of forest and grassland.
The fire is so extreme, it is creating its own weather, the New York Times reported.
Following a rainy start to the week and then rather comfortable temperatures for late-July, more summerlike conditions are forecast to return by this weekend.
National Weather Service forecast for Nags Head, as of Wednesday 6 p.m.: