Last summer in 2023, my boyfriend and I saw firsthand how the Canadian wildfires could be seen and felt in New York City. We could view the haze (smoke from the fire) all around us and we were surprised that we could actually smell the fire outside and we couldn’t escape the smell. When we took our dog out at night, we noticed she didn’t want to do her normal walk and wanted to head back immediately. We noticed she was smelling the air and could tell something was off. We also noticed people wearing masks, like it was COVID again, and agreed that the smoke must be hard on older people and people with asthma. We discussed how incredible it was that a fire that started May 27th in Nova Scotia could have an impact on NYC, 11 days later. We commented on how natural disasters affect the entire planet, and not just where it began.