Data centers have drawn controversy across the region as residents protest their potential impact on the environment, noise levels, and quality of life. That debate is raging now in Monroe Township, where officials recently banned their development.
Now, a company that has been planning to build a data center in the Gloucester County municipality is pushing back.
Princeton-based Hexa Builders has for years sought to develop a property at 3043 Black Horse Pike. It’s now suing Monroe officials for $300 million after they denied its application to build a 1 million-square-foot data center and a warehouse.
Among Hexa’s allegations, according to its complaint: “Data centers are a medium of expression and banning data centers would impose a significant burden on the free speech rights of all citizens in the United States.”
An Inquirer staffer’s typed interview notes from 2019 came into the possession of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office during an investigation that led to the high-profile, and recently abandoned, racketeering indictment against South Jersey power broker George E. Norcross III.
News organizations typically treat unpublished reporting material as confidential and often fight government demands for it in court.
The Inquirer’s top editor said the notes were not passed on by the journalist, nor was the company subpoenaed by authorities for them.
More than 500 acres of Burlington County farmland could be protected from development after officials voted to bring seven farms into the county’s Farmland Preservation Program.
The parasitic infection cyclosporiasis has been found in dozens of states, though cases in New Jersey were at typical levels as of this week.
Burlington County received $500,000 to improve its trails. The bulk of the funding will go toward engineering design costs for a trail segment that goes through Mount Laurel.
State energy regulators are investigating after July Fourth storms left around 850,000 New Jerseyans without power, mostly in areas serviced by PSE&G and Jersey Central Power & Light, New Jersey Monitor reports.
Somerdale Cold Cuts in Somerdale has temporarily closed after a thief stole copper piping connected to its refrigerator and deli case, according to 6abc.
🧠Trivia time
Which former New Jersey governor signed a bill into law to formally recognize Central Jersey?
A reader asks: I have been doing the Shore my entire life. I still pack an outfit for every day and an outfit for every night. Am I weird? Do other people do this or do they just throw stuff in a suitcase and wear the same things over and over because they are “on vacation down the shore”?
Amy answered: I appreciate [this reader’s] effort to keep things elevated. But I think the majority is falling into the “throw stuff in a suitcase” camp. Plus, they need room for the sheets the rentals don’t provide down the Shore.
Where do you fall on this topic? Is there such a thing as too casual at the Shore? Email Rosenberg at downtheshore@inquirer.com.
📸 Photo of the week
Hazy skies over the Ben Franklin Bridge caused by wildfires in Canada on Thursday.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Stay safe out there as you enjoy your weekend. I’ll be back with you Monday morning with more South Jersey news of the day.
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A real estate developer sued local officials in Monroe Township for $300 million shortly after the Gloucester County municipality banned data centers. Now, the case has moved to federal court.
Hexa Builders, a Princeton-based real estate developer, has long sought to develop a property at 3043 Black Horse Pike. Hexa filed a lawsuit on June 5 in New Jersey Superior Court after Monroe officials denied its application to build a 1 million-square-foot data center and a warehouse on the property.
The ban, put in place by two ordinances approved by the township on April 22, followed months of public outcry against Hexa’s potential project. Even after the ban was passed and officially took effect on May 13, Monroe Township residents packed the room when Hexa presented its application that still included a data center at a rowdy Special Planning Board meeting on May 22.
In the filing against Monroe’s mayor, township, and planning board, Hexa claimed the application rejection and data center ban are arbitrary, violate freedom of speech rights and the 14th Amendment, and more. The Woodbury Warbler, a local news site, reported on the filing last month.
Jim Maley, Hexa’s lawyer and a partner at Maley Givens in Collingswood, said he expects the ban to be overthrown, since he believes the ban in Monroe stems from trending public disdain for data centers.
“Nobody is giving any testimonial, any scientific reasons for the good of the community. Everybody’s doing it,” Maley said. “It’s just a thing.”
For now, Maley said Hexa is at a standstill. But the company still wants to complete the project, even with the public’s pushback and what could be a lengthy court process.
On July 6, the township moved for the case to be pushed to federal court, closing the Superior Court case, and no federal proceedings are on the docket yet.
“The Township is committed to vigorously and zealously defending this lawsuit while remaining steadfast in its commitment to protecting the interests of the Township, its residents, and its taxpayers,” said Sandra Graise, solicitor for Monroe Township, in an email.
Graise declined to further comment on the case or the data center ban, but the township wrote in a Facebook post last month that the lawsuit wasn’t a surprise.
How the ban came to be
Hexa, led by CEO Dipal Patel, officially obtained the property in a $5 million transfer of about 170 acres of farmland back in 2022. The township has included that land in a resolution for commercial redevelopment since 2019.
The site was previously approved for the construction of hundreds of homes when Hexa bought it, Maley said, but the township ended up moving in a different direction. In 2022, the township approved a redevelopment plan that set the grounds for Hexa to build warehouse, storage, and distribution facilities on Black Horse Pike, but not data centers.
That changed in early 2025, when the township passed an ordinance amending the redevelopment plan to allow data centers.
It didn’t take long for residents to speak out about the impact a data center could have on water quality, pollution, and noise in their neighborhoods, even before Hexa officially added a data center to their plan.
A planning board meeting in January 2026 dragged on for more than four hours because of resident objections, but the township still voted to approve a preliminary site plan for Hexa to move forward with its warehouse and distribution center project. The proposal didn’t include a data center at the time, though the lawsuit filed in June claims that Hexa had already expressed interest in developing one, and residents made it clear they weren’t fans of the possibility.
The township drafted an ordinance in March to set standards for data centers, including noise restrictions and a closed loop cooling system to avoid groundwater withdrawal, but that ordinance was tabled and never moved forward.
Instead, in April, Monroe passed two ordinances: one banning data centers altogether, and another repealing the 2025 ordinance that allowed data centers on Hexa’s property.
“At the end of the day, this Township has now banned any data center use from ever coming to Monroe Township. I thank those residents who attended the many meetings and expressed their concerns. The process worked,” Mayor Greg Wolfe wrote in a May township newsletter.
Two weeks before the ban was adopted, though, Hexa’s legal complaint claimed it submitted an amended application to the township to turn one of its proposed warehouses into a data center.
Maley said the amendment was driven by “interest from the marketplace that began before Township passed the ordinance” that allowed data centers at 3043 Black Horse Pike last year.
When Hexa sought approval for the new application on May 12, the township deemed the company’s application incomplete, prompting Hexa’s lawsuit.
The lawsuit
The $300 million sought by Hexa Builders accounts for financial losses related to the stunted data center project, Maley said.
“The damages all come from real, actual commercial realities here. … It’s the loss of the value of the project,” Maley said.
In its 102-page complaint, initially filed in Gloucester County court on June 5, Hexa claimed that Monroe violated the 14th Amendment by treating Hexa’s plan differently from similarly sized projects, like warehouses and other high water usage facilities, that it claims would have similar environmental and aesthetic impacts.
Hexa also claimed that banning data centers violates the First Amendment and free speech rights, since the facilities could support artificial intelligence and social media communications in the area.
Maley said the data center ban will have “an adverse effect on communications,” and the argument is an effort to adapt constitutional law to today’s tech.
“Data centers are a medium of expression and banning data centers would impose a significant burden on the free speech rights of all citizens in the United States,” the complaint reads.
Those are just some of the 20 counts alleged by Hexa, including that the township didn’t give the company ample notice of its ban as it prepared data center plans. Monroe Township officials have publicly shared their intention to keep mostly silent on the litigation as the case moves forward.
Some residents have continued to speak out at meetings and ask questions about potential loopholes in Monroe’s ordinances to ensure their neighborhoods remain data center-free.
At the township’s planning board session on July 9, Williamstown resident John Romano asked who allowed Hexa’s application to get so far in the first place, and whether Monroe will be able to hold a case against Hexa in court. He said the data center would be right in his backyard.
“I’d like to sit out in my backyard and enjoy a stogie and a cold one and not hear noise and pollution and this and that,” Romano said. “I would like to be able to stay in Monroe Township, live out my golden years here, which was the plan. This has got my wife and I really concerned.”
BERLIN, N.J. — Blake Zielinski carried the puck around the ice at Pennsauken Skate Zone in Camden County on a muggy late June day. He skated around an Edgebosshockey mini-stick, dangled and weaved before putting a shot into the upper corner.
There was some hooting and hollering, a raised stick, and a celebration with one knee touching the ice before the winger with a big grin threw a hit into the glass at the end boards.
Peering through the glass along the sideline were Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education campers who one day hoped to follow in Zielinski’s footsteps. Above him hung banners that also dotted the other sheet of ice at the Skate Zone. Each banner includes a name, a logo, and a year. There are Mattias Samuelsson-Buffalo Sabres-2018; Cam Dineen, who just signed with the Flyers, with Arizona Coyotes-2016; Tyler Boucher-Ottawa Senators-2021; Cayden Primeau-Montreal Canadiens-2017; and the late Johnny Gaudreau-Calgary Flames-2011.
A 15th banner is now set to join them: One for Blake Zielinski, Los Angeles Kings, 2026.
“Obviously being drafted is a dream come true,” he told The Inquirer via text while on the West Coast for the Kings’ development camp. “It’s what I’ve been working toward my entire life. There’s honestly no words that you can describe the feeling that went through me after my name was called. I couldn’t have done it without my family and everyone who helped along the way, and it’s just the beginning, for sure!”
While the beginning of Zielinski’s NHL dreams is on the West Coast in gray, black, and white, his origin story is in orange and black.
Blake Zielinski had to wait until Day 2 of the NHL draft, but not for long, as he was selected 80th overall by the Los Angeles Kings.Courtesy of Julie Zie
A natural skater finds his calling
On a quiet street in Berlin, Camden County, nicely manicured lawns dot the landscape. Inside one of those houses lies a basement that has seen its fair share of knee hockey, and the living room’s hardwood floor is scratched because of a makeshift puck made out of an old tobacco tin and tape. Three kids, Grant, Kylie, and Blake, the youngest, filled this house with memories.
The backyard is typical, with a comfortable sitting area, green grass, lighting, and a white fence. The fence looks tall, but it is actually not tall enough. Despite its majestic height, it cannot stop hard rubber disks from heading into a neighbor’s yard.
“I broke a couple of fences when I was younger,” Blake said with a chuckle. That is why two summers ago, Blake, his father, Joe, and one of Joe’s friends dug a foot down into the dirt, built a shooting platform — it has a BZ97 on it — and set up netting that stretches all around a hockey goal, almost touching the fence on both sides and going vertically to the sky.
Blake Zielinski shoots pucks in the backyard with his dog, Mabel, at his family home in Berlin.Isaiah Vazquez / For The Inquirer
This spot, regardless of the weather, has seen several buckets of pucks find the netting — preferably between the pipes of the 6-by-4-foot goal — or stopped by Mabel, the family dog.
All of these moments have been tinder, lighting up easily as Blake’s love of the game and his skill level have grown to become a third-round NHL draft pick. But the initial spark came from the Flyers, of course.
“My first hockey game [that] I think I ever watched was the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010,” he said. “I was 2 or 3 years old, and I saw Patrick Kane score the goal on the Flyers, and it stuck with me. I don’t know why. But that’s one reason I really love hockey, and just, in general, after that, I just fell in love with it.”
Blake would often accompany his older brother Grant’s ball hockey games in Marlton, Burlington County. He was handed a stick and ball, and spent time hitting the ball off the rink before finally playing games from his preschool days until the eighth grade. The ice hockey itch came early.
By the age of 3, he wanted to skate, his mom Julie recalls.
“My friend Jenn [Edwards], I just happened to meet with her because our daughters played field hockey together and she said, ‘Oh, I’m a skater. … I can teach him,’” Julie said.
“So I said, ‘Let’s go.’ Put on his little jacket … he had a helmet. And went over to the Flyers Skate Zone, met with her. And she said, ‘He’s doing great. How long has he skated for?’ I said, ‘About 20 minutes.’”
Blake Zielinski skates for the first time, working with family friend Jenn Edwards, at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees. According to his mother, Julie Zielinski, he threw the walker aside and “that was it.”Courtesy of Julie Zielinski
The family still jokes that Jenn said it just because she wanted to make money with lessons, but that was far from the case. It was easy to see Blake’s knack for moving on ice — and for the record, Edwards jokes in return that she wants credit for him becoming a draft pick.
A Flyers fan, and an audience with Johnny Hockey
Over time, Zielinski progressed through the youth hockey ranks in the Greater Philly Area. While his number has changed over the years — he was, coincidentally, given Danny Brière’s No. 48 by the Kings at development camp — some of it was with a No. 93 on the back. One of his favorite players growing up was former Flyers right wing Jakub Voráček.
“My first game, I was pretty young. I think I had this Voráček jersey. I got surprised for my birthday,” Blake said. “ … I think there used to be a restaurant in Wells Fargo where you can see the ice when you’re up there eating. Just enjoyed it with my family.”
The number of games he has attended over the years is too big to count. Joe would often take Grant and Blake on Thursday nights, and they would have to begrudgingly leave early because it was a school night, his sons often chirping at their dad if they’d left a game that the Flyers came back to win.
Recently, Blake was there watching the Flyers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in almost every home game of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, dreaming of what it would be like under those same bright lights.
Blake Zielinski’s suit jacket for the draft featured moments and memories from throughout his hockey career. More than 20 people were in Buffalo, N.Y., to hear his name called, including his 82-year-old grandmother, Patricia Mayer, and his billet mom from Iowa, Kelly Schofield.Isaiah Vazquez / For The Inquirer
“When he was in preschool, he made a book, and the whole book was based on the Flyers,” Julie said. “The rink, the number, all of it, the little stick figures. And it was, one day, when I grew up, I’m going to play for the Flyers. … He wore Flyers stuff all the time to school. And every picture was always Flyers or [a] rink or something.”
Blake would actually don orange and black, playing for Virtua and Flyers Elite, which is where people began noticing the kid racking up points. As a youngster, he skated with the kids of Flyers players and coaches, and he suited up for Tony Voce, the first Philly native to play for the Flyers organization, a few times, including at the World Selects Invitational.
And like any local kid, he plied his trade not only at Pennsauken and Voorhees, but also at Holleydell Ice Arena in Sewell, Gloucester County, working with South Jersey coaching legend Guy Gaudreau and skating a few times with his son Johnny in the summer.
“When I was on a summer team, Guy was coaching us; Johnny would always come on the ice a little bit and come around,” Zielinski said. “And so he came out to one of the practices, and he demoed one of these drills, and just came down — we were like 7- or 8-year-olds, and he just ripped it on our goalie.
“That was always one of the moments that I remember, just him coming down and always giving the kids in the community a good laugh, and just that was the person he was,” Blake recalled of the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets forward, who was a fatal victim in an alleged drunken-driving incident while cycling along with his brother Matthew in August 2024 in South Jersey.
A young Blake Zielinski grew up dreaming of being a Flyer, he is now a member of the LA Kings organization.
The hockey world takes notice
At the age of 15, Blake started playing with the North Jersey Avalanche, a top-tier U16 squad based out of Ice House in Hackensack.
It took a village to get him up and down the state for practices and games, with his sister Kylie picking Blake up from school and dropping him off at Julie’s school before she got him to Joe’s office for the drive north. There were a lot of late-night dinners at home — often after midnight — before getting up early for school.
Although he eventually billeted in North Jersey, the long trips paid off. It was with the Avalanche that Providence College first saw Zielinski play; he will be a freshman there in the fall. And it was there that he was asked to head to Des Moines, Iowa, for a two-week stint in November 2024 with the Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League. He went out again in December and was in the airport in Chicago, eating and watching YouTube videos, waiting to head home, when he got the call that the Bucs wanted him to play the rest of the season with them.
“When I went out and watched him play in Des Moines, I was really impressed with how well he wanted the puck and was holding on to the puck in the game,” Friars coach Nate Leaman said during a recent phone interview.
Blake Zielinski scored 25 goals this past season for the Buccaneers.Courtesy of Des Moines Buccaneers
“He’s like the youngest guy in the game, and he was really good at getting the puck, holding on to the puck and making plays with the puck. Typically, you see young guys go in the USHL, and they’re a little timid, but I thought he did a really good job with that.
“He’s really crafty around the net. He can score. He’s another kid who is pretty physically put together,” he added about the 6-foot, 187-pound winger. “I think that’s good, but I think the big thing with him is just that you get him below the tops of circles, on the power play, around the net, he’s really crafty and quick in those situations.”
He notched 32 points in 41 games to finish the year, with the hockey world starting to take notice. Last summer, he opened more eyes when he helped the United States win gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, leading the team with four goals and nine points. In the semifinals, he was named USA Hockey’s player of the game after potting a goal and an assist and scoring in the shootout with a “T.J. Oshie move” to beat Canada, 4-3.
This past season was a busy one. Aside from 55 points in 53 regular-season games and two goals in three playoff games for the Bucs, he was a late addition to the U.S. roster at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, a two-game series between top prospects for the 2026 draft from the Canadian Hockey League and the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 Team.
In December, as a 17-year-old, he was part of the U.S. team that won gold at the World Junior “A” Challenge, a U-19 tournament, notching two goals and four points in five games. And in January, he played in the Chipotle All-American Game, showcasing the top draft-eligible players from USA Hockey’s U-18 National Team and other teams in the USHL.
And at the end of the USHL season, Zielinski received the Gaudreau Award, an honor given annually to the player in the United States Hockey League who best embodies the legacy of Johnny and Matthew.
“Despite his elite talent, Blake competes with humility and respect for the game,” his coach for Des Moines, Derek Damon, told USHL.com. “He understands that success is built through team effort, and he consistently uses his ability not just to stand out, but to lift the performance and confidence of everyone around him.”
Jane (second from left) and Guy Gaudreau (middle) with Blake Zielinski at the Second Annual Gaudreau 5K & Family Fun Day in May.Courtesy of Julie Z
Soon Blake Zielinski’s banner will hang near the one with Johnny Gaudreau’s name on it. It went by fast for the Zielinski clan. One day, he was a kid, bigger than others his age, unable to stop, and now the hope is that another South Jersey kid will follow in the footsteps of Johnny and live out his NHL dreams.
“It’s just been a great ride, and the time went so fast, you didn’t have time to think about anything,” Joe said. The ride is not done, but, as Voce, who died in July 2024, would advise, have fun.
“I think that’s one of the biggest things,” Blake said. “When I was younger, just go out there and enjoy it. My dad said that a lot to me when I was growing up, you have to enjoy every day, every second, because you never really know what could happen.”
Federal prosecutors in New Jersey on Thursday announced guilty pleas and prison sentences for five people connected to fraud schemes involving large checks stolen from the mail, including from a postal annex in Camden.
Juawan Reed, 30, of Sharon Hill, a former postal worker, pleaded guilty on July 15 to charges of conspiring to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, theft of public money, theft of U.S. mail, money laundering, and filing a false income-tax return, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazier said.
Reed stole checks from the mail while he worked at the U.S. Postal Service Camden Carrier Annex, prosecutors said.
Reed sold checks or provided them to two other conspirators who advertised some of the stolen checks on social media or resold them to others, prosecutors said.
In one 2022 example, Reed stole a $686,541.88 U.S. Treasury check payable to a business in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Reed then provided the check to a conspirator, Christopher Hayman, 30, of Philadelphia, who then posed as the CEO of the business to open a bank account. Hayman then withdrew a substantial portion of the money before the bank was able to detect the fraud and closed the account, prosecutors said.
Hayman pleaded guilty on July 14 conspiring to commit bank fraud, Frazier said.
Reed admitted that he created and used a stolen identity to open financial accounts, which he used to launder some of the fraud proceeds, prosecutors said. He also admitted that he failed to report on his tax returns “hundreds of thousands of dollars that he earned from his crimes,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Reed admitted that the bank fraud conspiracy caused more than $2.4 million in actual losses and was intended to fraudulently obtain more than $20 million, prosecutors said.
Also as part of the fraud scheme, checks were stolen from blue mail collection boxes, and counterfeit version of stolen checks were created, and stolen checks were altered to increase their value, prosecutors said.
In a separate part of the conspiracy, fraudulent debit cards were created that led to more than $400,000 in actual losses for victims and intended losses exceeding $1.5 million.
On June 22, Tyree Holmes, 34, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud.
Kharon Parson-Wright, 28, of Marlton, was sentenced on June 22 to 57 months imprisonment, after previously pleading guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Yasmene Johnson, 29, of Marlton, was sentenced on May 12 to 57 months imprisonment after previously pleading guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Reed is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17. Hayman is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 16, and Holmes on Oct. 27.
The polluted campfire-like vaporfrom Canadian wildfires plummeted air quality Thursday, lowered visibility enough that flights were delayed at Philadelphia International Airport, and prompted cancellation of a concert at Cooper River Park in Camden County.The Phillies moved Thursday night’s game up one hour due to air quality concerns.
The smoke, which was expected to blanket the region at least through Friday, originated from fires burning in Western Ontario, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
It was swept in by winds that mixed to keep it closer to the ground.
“It’s just a factor of the winds at all levels kind of working together,” Johnson explained.
It is difficult to pinpoint when the air quality might return to normal, she said. Those forecasts come from state environmental protection departments and are usually no more than 48 hours out.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a Code Purple Air Quality Alert for Friday. Code purple signifies very unhealthy air, meaning people should avoid long or intense outdoor activities, and sensitive groups should avoid all outdoor activities. The department suggested not using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment, and avoiding the burning of leaves or trash.
Rain forecast for Saturday could help suppress the smoke, Johnson said, but on Thursday afternoon it was too early to be sure.
Poor air quality caused by the fires remained the biggest issue as they burned through forests and buildings before their smoke swept south, collecting ambient pollution from Boston, New York, and other areas before reaching Philadelphia.
Philadelphia issued a Code Red Air Quality Caution Day on Thursday, meaning some people were at risk of experiencing health effects, including elevated risks forpeople with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults, children, pregnant people, immunocompromised people, people experiencing homelessness, people who use drugs, people without access to air filtration, and outdoor workers.
The city advised people to limit their time outdoors and consider rescheduling activities.
“Today is not the day to start your marathon training plan,” Palak Raval-Nelson, commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, said in a statement.
Penn State graduate student Ray Boone waits for the bus with a face mask on because of the air quality, on Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 17th Street and JFK Boulevard in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide Code Red air quality day due to Canadian wildfire smoke blowing into the Philadelphia region.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
High temps increase risks
The smoke affected thousands of square miles in the region, from the Poconos to the Shore through Delaware.
The Air Quality Index, or AQI, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was in the unhealthy range for all of the region as of 4 p.m. Thursday. The index ranges from 0 to 500. Unhealthy is from 151 to 200.
Censors in Centre County, Pa., recorded a hazardous AQI of 345 by Thursday afternoon, the highest and most dangerous level. Other sensors in Lycoming and Bradford Counties recorded AQIs above 200, or very unhealthy.
Not helping: Temperatures in the 90s with humidity so high that it made it feel in excess of 100 degrees.
Julie and Bill Guise, 66 and 72, respectively, basked in the somewhat cool breeze billowing from a giant fan inside the President’s House complex at Independence National Historical Park, hoping to get relief from the oppressive air. The Flagstaff, Ariz., residents, however, were unaware of what exactly was causing it.
“We couldn’t figure out what it was,” Bill Guise said of the haze in the atmosphere.
But it did not change their plans. The couple are used to wildfires.
“It’s much worse out West,” Julie Guise added, likening the western smoke, when it’s extra bad, to sitting next to a campfire.
Eric Balaban, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Temple University, was hesitant but still went running Thursday morning.
“If I didn’t have an addiction to running, I would not have gone. And I would recommend other people not to run. Do as I say, not as I do,” he said with a laugh.
But exposure to the smoke is a serious matter, Balaban said. He noted that the smoke that travels “carries a uniquely toxic profile that poses severe health risks to both healthy individuals and vulnerable populations.”
Ruth McDermott-Levy, a professor at Villanova University’s school of nursing, said that air quality had become a risk not only for those already suffering from health issues, but for everyone.
“All of us are at risk,” McDermott-Levy said. “Certainly there are groups of people at greater risk, from pregnant women, children, older people, and those with cardiac and respiratory illnesses. But we’re at an unhealthy level for everyone.”
The Philadelphia Museum of Art behind a smokey haze on Thursday, July 16, 2026 in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide Code Red air quality day due to Canadian wildfire smoke blowing into the Philadelphia region.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
What’s in the air?
The two major pollutants of concern are ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter known as PM2.5.
Ground-level ozone is a pollutant that forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organics emitted by vehicles, power plants, and industry react in sunlight, especially during hot days. It can cause airways to constrict, leading to shortness of breath. It can especially affect those with asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
Fine particulate matter is so small that it can cross from the lungs directly into the bloodstream, bringing a body-wide exposure that can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, in addition to causing acute chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dizziness in otherwise healthy people.
The sun sets in a hazy sky over the Pennsylvania Turnpike Wednesday, July 15, 2026 as the Canadian and Great Lakes wildfire smoke moves into the region’ This at the Highspire Service Plaza], eastbound near Middletown.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Staff writer Nate File contributed to this article.
Even more farmland in Burlington County could be preserved for years to come after the Burlington County Board of Commissioners took the first steps to protect more than 500 acres from future development late last month.
The board voted on June 24 to grant preliminary approval for seven Burlington County farms totaling 529 acres to enter the county’s Farmland Preservation Program.
Farms can voluntarily join the program where the state and county pay farmers for the development rights to their land and enact a permanent deed restriction, ensuring the land is forever protected for agricultural uses even if the farm is sold. The farmers would retain ownership of the land.
The seven farms will now be appraised before the county can make offers to purchase the development rights.
Burlington County leads the state in farmland preservation with more than 67,000 acres of farmland protected, Commissioner Randy Brolo said, which accounts for nearly 72% of all active farmland within the county.
“Farming and agriculture have always been a major part of life in Burlington County, and our board has made it our mission to do everything possible to keep the industry strong and viable for the present and the future,” Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson said in a statement. “The Burlington County Farmland Preservation Program is essential to that goal, and we’re pleased to take this step to protect more acres of farmland.”
The farms that could be preserved are:
Bruch Farm in Chesterfield, 59 acres
Kirby Farm in Pemberton, 50 acres
Lounsberry Farm in Springfield, 169 acres
Russo Farm in Tabernacle, 37 acres
Seward Farm in Southampton, 22 acres
Specca Farm in Springfield, 82 acres
Varano Farm in Tabernacle, 110 acres
State funding could cover up to 80% of the preservation costs while the remainder is paid for out of the county’s Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund.
The county is also poised to preserve another seven farms totaling 1,070 acres.
“Every acre of farmland Burlington County preserves guards against overdevelopment that can impact our environment and quality of life, so we continue to target more farms and open space for protection,” Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said in a statement. “It’s good policy for Burlington County farmers and a win for residents who value living in a county with a green landscape and freshly grown food.”
The state’s energy regulators will examine utilities’ handling of recent outages that left thousands of New Jerseyans without power amid heat waves that pushed temperatures above 100 degrees in parts of the state, sometimes for days.
Regulatory staff will examine utilities’ preparedness before and after the early-July storms that prompted the outages, their communication with customers, and their ability to quickly restore power, Board of Public Utilities President Ben Hertz-Shargel said at the agency’s Wednesday meeting.
“We expect utilities to be prepared, communicate effectively, and restore service safely and as quickly as possible. When they fall short, the board will hold them accountable,” Hertz-Shargel said.
The Garden State saw severe and sudden thunderstorms during the Fourth of July weekend that the New Jersey Utilities Association, a trade group, said knocked out power for roughly 850,000 customers, mostly in areas serviced by PSE&G and Jersey Central Power & Light.
Restoration work was largely complete by July 10, when fewer than 1,000 remained without power, the association said, but by then some lawmakers had already started to raise alarms about days-long outages during sweltering heat.
At the time, Assemblyman Greg McGuckin (R., Ocean), whose legislative district falls within JCP&L’s central service area, said regular, extended summer outages had become the utility’s business model. On Wednesday, he said a review was long overdue.
“It’s unacceptable that every summer we continue to end up like a third-world country every time there’s a storm,” McGuckin said. “It’s inexcusable to me that power stations are not adequately protected from a lightning storm when lightning storms are a common occurrence in the summer at the Jersey Shore.”
The New Jersey Utilities Association, which represents JCP&L, PSE&G, and the state’s other electric distribution companies, said the storms were some of the most severe New Jersey had seen in recent years. Heavy rain and winds that approached the force of a hurricane downed trees and wires, prompting the outages.
“These storms were a multi-day, multi-utility crisis that required massive mobilization, but the state’s electric distribution companies’ restoration teams, along with local, county and state emergency personnel, worked around the clock to restore power to over 800,000 customers in just six days,” said Richard Henning, the association’s president and CEO.
He said the industry looks forward to collaborating with the state to boost resilience and improve storm response.
Chris Hoenig, a spokesperson for JCP&L, acknowledged the power outages were disruptive, particularly given that week’s extreme heat, but said the company had marshalled about 5,700 workers to assess damage, fix power lines, and remove downed trees, among other things.
“Four consecutive days of severe thunderstorms, damaging winds and flooding rains caused widespread damage across JCP&L’s service territory, with impacts comparable to those experienced during a hurricane,” Hoenig said. “Throughout the restoration effort, our crews remained focused on a single objective: restoring service safely and as quickly as possible to every affected customer.”
Asked to comment, Darwin Pham, a spokesman for Gov. Mikie Sherrill, said, “The Sherrill Administration will continue holding utility companies accountable to ensure they are providing reliable power, including making appropriate improvements to their energy infrastructure and outage response if gaps are identified.”
The board on Wednesday also vote to advance an order to show cause that could levy $44.1 million in fines against JCP&L for failing to meet reliability benchmarks in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Commissioner Christine Guhl-Sadovy, the board’s immediate past president, will preside over that case.
“I think that this action really shows, without predetermining any outcome, that we are taking very seriously the utility performance, particularly around these reliability issues and that, when warranted, we are willing to impose penalties,” she said.
The board also voted to open procurement for new nuclear power plants.
The vote follows a bill Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed earlier this week that calls for the state to stand up about 1,100 megawatts of new nuclear power to meet rising electricity demand spurred mostly by artificial intelligence data centers.
The governor has championed nuclear power as a method of meeting the state’s energy needs in the long term, though the measure has faced criticism because of the long timelines and high costs associated with nuclear plants and because it calls for those plants to be subsidized by other generators who would pass those expenses on to ratepayers.
“The project is super important, but we just have to be mindful,” Commissioner Joseph Coviello said. “It’s going to be extremely expensive at the start, and it’s only going to get more expensive, so we just have to be mindful of how we spend the ratepayers’ money.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide code red air quality day due to Canadian wildfire smoke blowing into the Philadelphia region.
The poor air quality prompted the start time for the Phillies-Mets game to be moved an hour earlier. A Phillies game was postponed in June 2023 due to air quality issues caused by wildfire smoke.
A heat advisory is also in effect in Philadelphia, where the heat index could reach 100 degrees. There’s also the potential for an isolated thunderstorm this evening between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m.
// Timestamp 07/16/26 7:00pm
Suffocating dome of smoke descends over Philly region
John Burns Jr., of Grays Ferry Philadelphia, Pa., sitting out at Cherry Street Pier with the wildfire smoke from Canada in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, July 16, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The polluted campfire-like vaporfrom Canadian wildfires plummeted air quality Thursday, lowered visibility enough that flights were delayed at Philadelphia International Airport, and prompted cancellation of a concert at Cooper River Park in Camden County.The Phillies moved Thursday night’s game up one hour due to air quality concerns.
The smoke, which was expected to blanket the region at least through Friday, originated from fires burning in Western Ontario, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
It was swept in by winds that mixed to keep it closer to the ground.
“It’s just a factor of the winds at all levels kind of working together,” Johnson explained.
It is difficult to pinpoint when the air quality might return to normal, she said. Those forecasts come from state environmental protection departments and are usually no more than 48 hours out.
What to know about the wildfire smoke in Philly and its health impacts
Penn State graduate student Ray Boone waits for the bus with a face mask on because of the air quality, on Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 17th Street and JFK Boulevard in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide Code Red air quality day due to Canadian wildfire smoke blowing into the Philadelphia region.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
As Canada grapples with hundreds of active wildfires, the rest of North America is feeling the impactsstruggles with air quality alerts.
In Philadelphia and elsewhere, the air quality score is considered unhealthy, particularly for the most sensitive people.
Whether you are planning on going out or staying home, here’s what three experts had to say about staying healthy and what precautions are needed:
Pennsylvania DEP issues statewide code purple alert for Friday
Air quality is expected to continue to deteriorate Friday, with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issuing a code purple alert for the entire state as smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota continue to blanket the area.
A code purple alert indicates “very unhealthy” air quality conditions, which could effect the general population. It is the second-highest step on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s color scale, with only maroon — which indicates a “hazardous” air quality — outranking it.
Department officials advised all residents to limit their time and exertion levels outside. Sensitive groups — including children, elderly people, and people with respiratory illnesses — are advised to avoid outdoor activities altogether.
Friday’s code purple alert is one step above Thursday’s code red.
The state DEP advised that residents and businesses should avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment, and not burn leaves or trash to help keep fine particulate pollution levels down amid the alert.
The Phillies’ game against the New York Mets will begin an hour earlier than initially scheduled, due to air quality concerns.
Now, the game will start at 6:10 p.m., the Phillies announced Thursday afternoon. Gate opening times, however, will stay the same, with third base and left-field entrances opening at 5:10 p.m., and all other gates opening a half hour later.
Thursday’s game was initially scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m., and will kick off a three-game series against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
In 2023, the Phillies postponed a game against the Detroit Tigers over air quality issues from Canadian wildfires.
Air quality is ‘potentially pretty dangerous’ for sensitive groups
Thursday’s smoky air is not just overshadowing Philadelphia’s summer sky; it’s also clouding your lungs.
The city’s air quality score is in the red stage, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. It is not as hazardous as the maroon level, but the air is still considered unhealthy — particularly for more sensitive populations.
“It’s potentially pretty dangerous air quality to individuals who are fragile,” said Dr. Michele Columbo, the allergy and immunology chief at Main Line Health. “They can have difficulty breathing, dry cough, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and even feel light-headed because of high heat.”
You might not consider yourself “fragile,” but Columbo said people 65 or older, folks with asthma or any kind of lung issues, individuals with cardiovascular disease, children, and pregnant women are the most affected by the current air conditions.
While most of the city is continuing daily life as normal, Columbo cautions people in the sensitive category against staying outside for more than a couple of minutes at a time, and even encourages rescheduling outdoor activities.
Children in particular are at risk because they breathe faster than adults. And pregnant people in the third trimester may already be experiencing difficulty breathing without the added contaminants to their lungs.
Folks falling in this category should stay inside, where setting the air-conditioning to recirculation can help, Columbo said. For people who can’t avoid going outside, wear an N-95 mask, he added.
Columbo also urged patients with chronic respiratory problems to make sure to carry and use their inhalers when outside.
A statewide code red air emergency and heat advisory is not stopping global EDM phenomenon Deadmau5 from headlining FIFA Fan Festival in Lemon Hill Thursday night.
As air quality reaches unhealthy levels, according to five monitoring stations across the city, and the heat index could read 100 degrees, Fan Fest officials said the festivities and Deadmau5 performance would go on as scheduled.
“We encourage the public to take proper precautions if attending Fan Fest today,” said Melissa Ferdinand of Philadelphia Soccer 2026, the host city committee that runs the festival.
The festival opens from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with Deadmau5 taking the stage at 7 p.m. The Ghosts N Stuff producer posted to Instagram three hours ago that he was en route to Philly, and just so happened to bump into his contemporary and global DJ icon, Zedd, Thursday morning.
Wildfire smoke not dampening some tourists’ time in Philly: ‘It’s much worse out west’
Julie and Bill Guise, 66 and 72, respectively, basked in the somewhat cool breeze billowing from a giant fan inside the President’s House complex at around 1 p.m. hoping to get relief from the oppressive air. The Flagstaff, Ariz., residents, however, were unaware of what exactly was causing it.
“We couldn’t figure out what it was,” Bill Guise said of the haze in the atmosphere.
It wasn’t out of lack of familiarity with wildfire smoke. It was the opposite. Their region of the country is so often affected by this kind of smoke, and at much closer range, that this level of smokiness didn’t even register to them as wildfire-related.
The couple was in town visiting their son, a jazz bassist and University of the Arts graduate. While the smoky air is uncomfortable for them, as is the general humidity that the desert-dwellers are unaccustomed to, they said it’s unlikely to change their plans for the day.
“We have such limited time here and so many things to do,” Bill Guise said.
The couple was meeting with their son later at Valley Green Inn for dinner and planning on seeing a play tomorrow morning at Penn’s Landing. They don’t plan on letting the haze get in the way.
“It’s much worse out west,” Julie Guise added, likening the western smoke, when it’s extra bad, to sitting next to a campfire.
For father-daughter duo David and Brayden DeMaria, this level of smoke is somewhat of a reprieve from what they were experiencing in Syracuse, N.Y., before they traveled down to Philly.
“We left yesterday morning and it was, like, orange leaving the house,” Brayden DeMaria, 19, said standing outside Independence Hall around 1:30 p.m. “The color of the sky is completely different.”
The two came to town for Wednesday’s Tame Impala concert (though they were mostly there for the opener, Djo) and will return home later today. They planned on packing the day with finishing their trip to Independence Hall, thrifting, and then hitting up Franklin Fountain for ice cream.
Deteriorating air quality appears to be heading toward Philly
Air quality is deteriorating rapidly in Central and Western Pennsylvania this afternoon as smoke from Canadian wildfires pours across the U.S. border, data from government air sensors show.
Air sensors in Centre County recorded an air quality index of 345 at 1 p.m., or hazardous, the highest and most dangerous level tracked by the Environmental Protection Agency. Other sensors in Lycoming and Bradford Counties recorded AQIs above 200, or very unhealthy.
Under these conditions, according to the EPA, the entire population is at risk for adverse health effects with prolonged exposure.
The worst conditions appeared to be gradually drifting southeast across Pennsylvania Thursday afternoon. Forecasts show the thickest smoke reaching the Philadelphia region late Thursday into Friday morning.
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Flights delayed into Philadelphia due to low visibility
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay on flights headed into Philadelphia International Airport Thursday due to low visibility caused by wildfire smoke.
According to FlightAware, 148 flights have been delayed heading into PHL Thursday. Currently, the posted delay is 66 minutes and scheduled to remain in place until 11:59 pm.
There are currently no delays on planes departing PHL.
Travelers are encouraged to check with their airlines for the latest flight information, as the impact of Canadian wildfires is expected to linger across the Philadelphia region Friday.
Concert featuring Beach Boys co-founder canceled due to poor air quality
The poor air quality across the Philadelphia region is beginning to impact events scheduled to take place outdoors.
A concert featuring Al Jardine, co-founder of the Beach Boys, scheduled to take place at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J., at 8 p.m. on Thursday has been canceled, organizers announced.
The show has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4.
There has yet to be any announcements regarding Thursday night’s Phillies game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Temple doc says smoke-filled air has a ‘uniquely toxic profile’
Eric Balaban, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Temple University, was hesitant but still went running Thursday morning, even as smoke from Canadian wildfires smothered the region.
“If I didn’t have an addiction to running, I would not have gone. And I would recommend other people not to run. Do as I say, not as I do,” he said with a laugh.
But exposure to the smoke is a serious matter, Balaban said. He said that smoke that travels “carries a uniquely toxic profile that poses severe health risks to both healthy individuals and vulnerable populations.”
Balaban said the smoke, which has traveled hundreds of miles, undergoes what’s known as “photochemical aging,” meaning it interacts with oxygen, heat, and sunlight to help generate high levels of ground-level ozone and highly irritating aerosols.
That’s in addition to the ground-level ozone also produced by weather conditions such as on Thursday.
Ground-level ozone is a pollutant that forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organics emitted by vehicles, power plants, and industry react in sunlight, especially during hot days. It can cause airways to constrict, leading to shortness of breath, so it can especially affect those with asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
Balaban also explained that the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) within the smoke is small enough to cross from the lungs directly into the bloodstream, bringing a body-wide exposure that can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, in addition to causing acute chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dizziness in otherwise healthy people.
Those risks are amplified for those with preexisting conditions like asthma or COPD, he said.
He suggests people replace home air-conditioning filters to improve indoor air quality and, if they have existing conditions, to make sure they have extra respiratory medications and inhalers on hand.
Balaban emphasized the world is undergoing an environmental crisis with climate change, and encouraged the public to address the “root cause” of it through civic action.
“We have opportunities to mitigate and prevent these environmental catastrophes from happening, but it is something that we need to agree to do together,” he said.
People try to beat the heat with a hand fan in limited shade in Center City.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Ruth McDermott-Levy, a professor at Villanova University’s school of nursing, says that not only has air quality become a risk today for those already with health issues, but for everyone.
“All of us are at risk today,” McDermott-Levy said. “Certainly there are groups of people at greater risk, from pregnant women, children, older people, and those with cardiac and respiratory illnesses. But we’re at an unhealthy level for everyone.”
She has previously written an article about the impact of wildfire smoke on health. This newest round of wildfires from Canada, as well as the second heat dome to descend on the area in as many weeks, indicates climate change, she said.
Wildfire smoke is particularly damaging, she said. Wildfires carry not only smoke from burning trees, but from buildings it sweeps up, and pollutants already in the air. That can include pollution coming into Philadelphia from Boston and New York, McDermott-Levy said.
“Wildfire smoke is among the most toxic air pollution that we have,” she said.
She said that pollution not only can penetrate the human bloodstream, but also settles on crops and livestock.
She suggested that those with tickets to tonight’s Phillies game reconsider going, especially children whose lungs are still developing. A Phillies-Tigers game was postponed in 2023 because of Canadian wildfire smoke, but no announcements have been made regarding Thursday’s game.
Meanwhile, high heat and sunlight combine with gases in the air to produce more ground-level ozone.
“This is climate change and we are living it,” she said.
Philly health officials urge residents to limit outdoor activities
Hazy conditions in Center City Philadelphia Thursday, caused by wildfires in Canada.Denali Sagner / staff
With Philadelphia under a Code Red Air Quality Alert, city officials are urging residents to limit their time outdoors.
“Today is not the day to start your marathon training plan,” Palak Raval-Nelson, commissioner of the city’s Department of Public Health, said in a statement.
As of 11 a.m., Philadelphia’s Air Quality Index was 182, solidly in the middle of the “unhealthy” range, which means conditions are bad enough for members of the general public to experience health effects.
Especially at risk are residents with heart or lung conditions, who should take “extra special care” outdoors Thursday, Raval-Nelson said. Children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are also at higher risk.
People experiencing symptoms including trouble breathing, heart palpitations, nausea, or dizziness are encouraged to seek immediate medical attention.
Despite the warning, city services will operate normally. Employees working outdoors are being encouraged to take frequent breaks and should consider wearing a mask, the city said.
Most Philly Parks and Recreation activities will operate normally
City pools will be open Thursday and won’t have restrictions based on air quality.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
The wildfire smoke will not disrupt most Philadelphia Parks and Recreation facilities or activities on Thursday, according to spokesperson Ra’Chelle Rodgers.
The city’s pools and parks will not have restrictions based on air quality, she said. Summer camps may cancel some trips, outdoor sports or other activities on a case-by-case basis, but will otherwise remain open and move indoors.
The department is following the city’s health guidance on air quality, and instructing leaders to monitor the situation and use their best judgment, Rodgers said.
Poor air quality threatens the Phillies-Mets game in South Philly
The Phillies were forced to play in smoky conditions in June 2023, ultimately forcing the team to postpone a game.Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Wildfire smoke from Canada is creating air quality issues in Philadelphia, threatening to derail the Phillies’ return to the diamond.
The Phillies are scheduled to kick off a three-game series against the New York Mets Thursday at Citizens Bank Park beginning at 7 p.m., but the game could be postponed if conditions in the city don’t improve.
As of 9:30 a.m., Philadelphia’s Air Quality Index was 181, solidly in the middle of the “unhealthy” range, which means conditions are bad enough for members of the general public to experience health effects.
Air quality levels are expected to fluctuate during the day, but issues are forecast to linger through tonight and potentially into Friday, according to Paul Fitzsimmons, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
“I think this evening there still will be air quality issues the Philly area and surrounding areas” Fitzsimmons said. “It’s tough to say exactly how bad they will be.”
The Phillies did not respond to a request for comment. The team isn’t scheduled to play Friday, so shifting the game back a day wouldn’t create much of a scheduling headache.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Phillies were impacted by smoke. In June 2023, the team postponed a game against the Detroit Tigers due to air quality issues stemming from Canadian wildfires.
The Phillies-Mets game is the only MLB matchup on the schedule Thursday, as the league restarts following the All-Star break. MLB games scheduled Friday in Toronto, Boston, and New York City, which are all experiencing air quality issues.
The Washington Spirit defeated Gotham FC in National Women’s Soccer League action Wednesday night at Citi Field in New York City, and players said the smoky air had an impact.
Air quality is expected to improved for Sunday’s men’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, which will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Smoke in Philly could linger into Friday afternoon
Hazy skies at Independence Hall and across Center City Philadelphia Thursday.Michelle Myers / staff
The smoke we’re experiencing in Philadelphia is from fires burning in western Ontario and the impact could be felt through at least Friday afternoon, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
The smoke had been lingering high in the atmosphere since Tuesday, but changing wind patterns caused it to mix closer to the ground by late Wednesday afternoon, she said.
“It’s just a factor of the winds at all levels kind of working together,” Johnson explained.
Visibility in the immediate Philadelphia area has dropped to between three to five miles. Visibility of beyond six miles is typical for a sunny, smoke-free day.
Visibility worsens farther north, Johnson said. In the Poconos and Central New Jersey, for example, it has dropped to around one to two miles. Reading is at two miles.
Johnson said that conditions are similar to, but not quite as severe yet, to June 2023 when smoke from Canadian wildfires were so bad they caused the Phillies to postpone a game against the Detroit Tigers.
It’s difficult to pinpoint when the air quality might return to normal, she said. Those forecasts come from state environmental protection departments and are usually no more than 48 hours out.
But she expects the haze to persist through Thursday and Friday, and that air quality could potentially deteriorate further overnight.
“Getting the exact visibility is still pretty challenging when we’re talking about smoke, more than several hours out,” Johnson cautioned.
Air quality in Philly ‘unhealthy’ due to wildfire smoke
You might want to skip that morning run or wait a few days to mow the lawn.
Smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires has descended over the Philadelphia region, casting a haze, causing a campfire-like smell, and producing poor air quality.
The Air Quality Index by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the unhealthy range for Center City, Northeast Philadelphia, Chester, Norristown, and Camden. The index ranges from 0 to 500. Unhealthy is from 151 to 200. Center City was the highest in the area at 184, as of 7:30 a.m.
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The index measures a range of pollutants, including really fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5; carbon monoxide; sulfur dioxide; and nitrogen dioxide.
The National Weather Service has issued an air quality alert until midnight Thursday.
And the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a Code Red Air Quality Action Day for fine particulates. An Air Quality Action Day means that air quality within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.
Code red means that young children, elderly people, and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable and should avoid outdoor activities. Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.
In addition, the NWS has issued a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Thursday with the heat index to hover near 100.
Code red air quality alert has been issued for the Philly area
The sun tries to peek through the clouds and wildfire smoke from Canada over houses in Ridley Park Thursday.Torin Sweeney / Staff
Smoke from Canadian wildfires began enveloping the region Thursday, creating a haze, a faint smell of charcoal, and a potential danger for people with respiratory issues.
The National Weather Service has issued a code red air quality day for Philadelphia and surrounding counties through midnight. That means air quality across the region is forecast to approach or exceed unhealthy standards.
By daybreak, air quality was tumbling to unhealthy levels in Philadelphia and a broad swath of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to an Inquirer analysis of dozens of public sensors.
Early Thursday morning, the amount of fine particulate matter in the air, measured by the Environmental Protection Agency in a metric called the Air Quality Index, or AQI, had risen sharply.
Air with an AQI above 150 is considered unhealthy to breathe with prolonged exposure for most individuals, according to the EPA. In air quality alerts issued by the National Weather Service, forecasters recommended avoiding prolonged outdoor exposure, and particularly avoiding common activities like exercise.
It was unclear when the smoke would dissipate across the region, but the National Weather Service said it could linger into Friday.
This map shows air quality in the Northeastern U.S.
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Canadian wildfire photos: How things look elsewhere
Julian McTaggart is playfully pushed into Vermont’s West River as smoke from Canadian wildfires creates an orange haze over the area.Kristopher RadderWildfire smoke blankets downtown Toronto Wednesday after wildfires swept across Ontario.IAN WILLMSThe CN Tower is pictured in Toronto as wildfire smoke fills the city.Laura Proctor
Are we even still talking about pizza down the Shore? Just on the Ocean City boardwalk alone, there are so many other intriguing options: lobster rolls, Greek nachos, pierogis, birria tacos, smash burgers, Korean corn dogs, japchae, acai bowls.
But, like the rhythm of the tides that everyone should be checking before deciding where to put their chairs (see more on that below), the Shore conversation invariably turns to pizza.
In Ocean City, where people can, genuinely, be found walking down the boardwalk with whole pies under their arms, I have tried to settled the big debate: Manco’s, Preps, or, new this year, Alex’s? Or is there a wild card?
The big three feature the ringed sauce that is Ocean City’s signature. I liked my slice this week at Preps better than at a previous outing, so if you like a thicker cheese-forward slice, yet three solid rings of sauce, Preps is for you. I’m no Manco’s hater, and I am typically happy at the Ninth Street counter with a slice and a diet soda, but this time, at 12th Street, I was underwhelmed. Maybe it was just too hot out. Maybe it was that the hose-applied ring of sauce left too much of the slice near the crust sauce-free. Meanwhile, Alex’s, hailing from Roxborough, is a similar style, but crispier. The sauce on my slice was a bit well done. Maybe it had sat in the oven too long? It didn’t sing. I agree with others, including Craig LaBan in this summer’s Shore food review, that Alex’s standout is its smash burger.
The best slice I tried came from this shop in that famous 600 block of the boardwalk, shared with the former home of Wonderland Pier. That was a New York-style slice straight out of my childhood. Tangy, saucy, fresh cheese, just a hint of oil, charred yet foldable. Nicely done, Roma! If a big hotel will keep business humming at Roma, I say reason enough.
📮 What’s the most unusual thing you’ve eaten down the Shore? What do you wish there was more of (fresh seafood shacks)? And, OK, what’s your go-to pizza? Let me know what you think by replying to this email and I’ll include your most interesting responses in a future newsletter. And check out LaBan’s full Shore dining report here.
Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Send them to me here.
🌞 It’s heating up again, with a dreaded west wind and some weekend showers in the forecast. (Not to mention some air quality concerns from Canadian wildfires). But you never know.
🏀 Jalen Brunson, the de facto mayor of Margate, was photographed outside the Other Lucy Grille near the Elephant with his arm in a sling. This caused an uproar in New York media and beyond.
👩🏽🎨 Visit the new MudGirls Studios on Arctic Avenue in Atlantic City. MudGirls is a nonprofit whose mission is “empowering disadvantaged women through the making of functional ceramic art and architectural tiles.”
Shore snapshot
Spectacular sunsets are an almost everyday occurrence in Strathmere. Monday, June 29, 2026.Vernon Ogrodnek / For The Inquirer
🧠 Trivia time
Which two beach towns had boardwalks that were destroyed in the Great Hurricane of 1944 and never rebuilt?
A. Margate and Ventnor
B. Beach Haven and Stone Harbor
C. Ocean City and Margate
D. Wildwood and Wildwood Crest
If you think you know the answer, email us here. First one gets a shout out.
👙 Ask Down the Shore
Tony Santini asks: I have been doing the Shore my entire life. I still pack an outfit for every day and an outfit for every night. Am I weird? Do other people do this or do they just throw stuff in a suitcase and wear the same things over and over because they are “on vacation down the shore?”
So this topic came up when I wrote about the Shore’s ultimate beach bum, Bruno Battaglia, who logged countless hours on Ventnor’s Newport Avenue beach and mentioned to me that he does, in fact, notice (and judge) when people wear the same bathing suit day after day.
But let’s face it, the Shore, not to mention the entire state of New Jersey, is nothing if not casual (just look at those lines to get into happy hour at classy places like Dock’s and the Knife and Fork). So I appreciate Tony’s effort to keep things elevated. But I think the majority is falling into the “throw stuff in a suitcase” camp. Plus, they need room for the sheets the rentals don’t provide down the Shore.
Does an early setup mean nobody can sit in front of you when the tide goes out? What about when the tide is coming in, do you have to go to the back of the line or just scrunch closer and closer? Is it just a free-for-all on a narrow beach? We asked our Shore Line text group (join here!).
We sit back, and like to have a line of vision to our kids but it never fails that people are gonna sit in front of you but I feel like that’s just the nature of the beast.
Ok to sit in front of others as long as you are willing to move behind others as the tide rolls in.
We try to get the sweet spot of finding the closest possible high tide placement that way we never have to move and those that grabbed the low tide real estate either head out with the incoming tide or relocate behind us.
Tide clock is a must.
I always try to put my chair where I won’t blocking anyone’s view of the ocean. I would hope others would do the same for me.
My favorite memories come from working as a teenager for my grandfather, Lou Segal, at his North Carolina Ave. parking lot, just down the street from the Chalfont Haddon Hall: Lou, stout and ruddy-cheeked, deploying his incredible people skills on customers, friends and fellow merchants; Uncle Sid’s artistic talents displayed in his incomparable pencil-drawings on the interior walls of the shanty; Ray Martain, the perpetual prognosticator who regaled everyone with his mispronounced “trassic” [traffic] predictions; pre-dawn SOS breakfasts at Frank Burns’ Flying Dutchman on South Carolina Ave. and lunch runs to Kornblau’s on Pacific Ave. for their juicy corned-beef sandwiches. But the topper was the fleet of gleaming white Oldsmobile convertibles racing back and forth across the city during “Pageant Week.” Their annual arrival meant that Grandpop could raise the price for parking from $2.50 to $5.00!
Send us your Shore memory! In 200 words, tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space during the summer.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Good morning, South Jersey. Hot temperatures will continue, so don’t forget to drink water today. The state has experienced an uptick in heat-related deaths from last year, according to New Jersey Monitor.
After winning a prestigious all-expenses-paid scholarship, a Haddonfield High School student has a blank check to attend any college he wants in the country.
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Luke Patterson will start his final year at Haddonfield Memorial High School with one less thing to consider: how to pay for college.
The student won an all-expenses-paid merit scholarship from the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. The award will cover Patterson’s tuition, room and board, and other related expenses for any college he wants to attend in the U.S.
He’s among five students nationwide selected, and the first one to ever win from South Jersey.
Four years ago, a K-9 working for the Gloucester County Fire Marshal’s Office and another dog died after an official allegedly left them in a hot vehicle.
On July 8, Gloucester County received notice that the Attorney General’s Office closed the state investigation into the incident with no criminal charges attached.
That was one day after the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office charged a sergeant for a May incident in which the official allegedly left two K-9s in a work vehicle.
Now, a Gloucester County commissioner is using the more recent case to renew interest in the 2022 case and push for justice.
Camden might need federal aid from FEMA to deal with the aftermath of intense flooding from earlier this month, but New Jersey is still trying to get aid for a snowstorm that President Donald Trump denied. Sen. Andy Kim, a South Jersey Democrat, is among the group of senators accusing the president of “significant partisan disparity” in federal disaster aid.
According to the New York Times, data centers are projected to add billions in electricity costs in 13 states, including New Jersey.
The state will roll out a pilot over about four weeks that will distribute Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits through chip-enabled EBT cards. The move aims to prevent EBT skimming.
The Burlington County Superintendent of Elections Office will host multiple outreach events throughout the rest of the summer to encourage voter registration and educate residents on how voting machines work. The first one is today at the Cinnaminson Library.
🤠 Stampede Rodeo and Bull Riding: The event is a two-day affair full of bull riding, barrel racing, and roping. Enjoy food vendors, live music, and a beer garden. ⏰ Friday, July 17, and Saturday, July 18, 7 p.m. 💵 $25 for adults, $12 for children under 12 if you buy tickets online ahead of time📍 Miller Farms Arena, 134 N. Grove St., Berlin.
🎉 South Jersey Caribbean Festival: This 26th annual free family event features live music and dance performances, food and craft vendors, and community resources. ⏰ Saturday, July 18, 2-8 p.m. 💵 Pay-as-you-go📍Wiggins Waterfront Park, 2 Riverside Dr., Camden.
⚽ SoccerFest26 World Cup Final Watch Party & Community Soccer Tournament: Start your morning with the tournament among recreational teams from across the region. In the afternoon, cheer with fans at the viewing party for the World Cup Final. ⏰ Sunday, July 19, 10 a.m- 5 p.m. 💵 Pay-as-you-go 📍 South Delsea Drive Park, 152 Delsea Dr. South, Glassboro.
The owner of South Jersey’s Tideline added the Liquid Asset to her drink menu with a eye-popping price tag. It consists of tequila, an ice cube, a red chili pepper — and a speedboat. How much is it?
🏠 Ogling: A rebuilt Shore home after a couple spent years designing it. (Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email — and send some digital photographs — at properties@inquirer.com.)
Thank you for starting your morning with The Inquirer. I’ll be off for a couple of days, but my editor Julie will step in to take over Friday and Monday, so there will not be a gap in your news roundups. See you soon! ☀️
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