Salaberry De Valleyfield, QC Live Wildfire Smoke Map
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The moment a wildfire starts near you, you'll get an instant alert and simple tips to reduce your smoke exposure.
What's In The Smoke
30xSmaller than a human hair
Fine enough to reach deep into the lungs. A MERV 13 is built to capture it.
How Far It Travels
It Doesn't Stay Local
Smoke rides the wind far downwind — you can get smoky air with no fire nearby.
What To Do During A Smoke Event
Simple steps to reduce indoor exposure.
- Stay In, Close UpShut windows and doors to keep smoke out.
- Set Fan To "On"Keeps air cycling through your filter, not just when heating or cooling.
- Recirculate AirSwitch off fresh-air intake so you're not pulling smoke in.
- Run A MERV 13Built to capture the fine PM2.5 in smoke.
- Add A PurifierExtra filtration for the room you use most.
- Wear an N95 if OutsideFits snug to block fine particles — a cloth mask won't.
The Best Air Filter For Wildfire Smoke
During smoke events, the EPA recommends upgrading to a MERV 13 filter — or the highest-rated filter your system can handle — to help reduce the fine particles smoke brings indoors. MERV 13 is the level most home HVAC systems can run while still capturing PM2.5, the fine particulate that makes up the bulk of wildfire smoke.
- Captures PM2.5 particles
- Blocks ash, soot, and smoke odor
- Keeps your indoor air safe—even when the outdoor air is dangerous
- Meets the EPA's recommended rating for filtering fine wildfire smoke particles.
Wildfire Smoke FAQs
Facts About Wildfires
Over 70,000 wildfires burn in the U.S. every year.
Wildfire smoke can travel 1,000+ miles, affecting states that aren't even near the blaze.
Exposure to wildfire smoke can worsen asthma, trigger heart issues, and lead to ER visits.
Indoor air can hold more fine particles during wildfire events unless it's properly filtered.
The EPA advises using MERV 13 filters or portable HEPA air cleaners during wildfire smoke events.
Don't Wait Until The Smoke's Inside.
Use the live wildfire smoke tracker and upgrade your air filters today to protect your lungs and your home.
Shop Filters For Smoke Protection
Live Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QC Forest Wildfire & Smoke Map Today:
Local Air Quality Tracking & Indoor Protection Solutions
TL;DR
Use the live wildfire and smoke map at the top of this page to see active fires and smoke plumes around Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, today. The city has had no air quality monitoring station since 2003 and no Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) forecast, so the closest official reading is Quebec's Air Quality Index (IQA) from the Saint-Anicet station, about 19 km away. When smoke arrives, close up the house and filter the air inside.
What To Do In The Next 10 Minutes
Check the map above for fire markers and smoke shading over Lake Saint-François.
Open Quebec's IQA map and select the Saint-Anicet station, the nearest active provincial reading.
Check Environment Canada air quality alerts for the Valleyfield - Beauharnois area.
If smoke is present, close windows and doors and turn off your air exchanger.
Key Takeaways
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, has no active air quality monitoring station; its last one closed in April 2003.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) publishes no AQHI forecast for Salaberry-de-Valleyfield; in Quebec, it covers only Montreal, Quebec City and Gatineau.
The nearest active provincial station is Saint-Anicet, 19.1 km from downtown. The nearest AQHI station is Cornwall, Ontario, 54.0 km away.
Quebec's IQA turns poor at about the same fine particle level (35 micrograms per cubic metre) where the U.S. AQI reaches 100.
How To Read The Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Wildfire And Smoke Map
The live map above shows what is burning and where smoke is moving around Salaberry-de-Valleyfield today. Return to it any time on the Filterbuy.ca Salaberry-de-Valleyfield wildfire and smoke map page. The map combines Canadian fire data from Natural Resources Canada with satellite smoke analysis from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Its layers show active and new fires, prescribed burns, unconfirmed heat detections, satellite smoke plumes and official alerts.
A satellite smoke layer shows smoke anywhere in the air column, including plumes passing high overhead while street-level air stays clean. Confirm the map against the Saint-Anicet IQA reading before changing your plans, and see Filterbuy's guide on how to read a wildfire smoke map.
Where Salaberry-de-Valleyfield's Air Quality Readings Come From
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield has no air quality monitoring station today. For this page, we went through the Quebec air quality station register on Données Québec row by row. It lists four former stations in the city: St-Onge (1979 to 1981), Bellerive on rue Cousineau (1980 to 1986), and two short-term stations at Parc Morin and École St-Esprit (April 2002 to April 2003).
Adding up those dates, we found the city has had a working station for about 8 of the nearly 48 years since the first one opened in 1979. None has operated since 2003.
The closest active station is Saint-Anicet, a rural station south of Lake Saint-François. We calculated straight-line (haversine) distances from published station coordinates to downtown and to the Saint-Timothée sector.
Table 1: Distance To The Nearest Monitoring Stations
Haversine distances calculated for this page from RSQAQ and Air Quality Ontario station coordinates.
Our reading: Saint-Anicet is the best official guide, but it sits in farm country across the lake, so treat it as a regional signal. When smoke arrives from the west, the Cornwall AQHI on Air Quality Ontario is a useful second check.
What IQA And AQHI Numbers Mean During Smoke
Three scales can appear for Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, and their numbers are not interchangeable. Quebec's Air Quality Index (IQA) sets each station's reading by its highest pollutant sub-index. ECCC's Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is calculated hourly from fine particles (PM2.5) alone during wildfire smoke events.
Table 2: How The IQA, AQHI And U.S. AQI Compare
The Direction de santé publique de la Montérégie lists the people most sensitive to wildfire smoke: people with a chronic illness such as asthma, COPD, heart disease or diabetes; adults 65 and older; children 4 and under; and pregnant people. Shortness of breath, wheezing, severe coughing or chest pain may need medical attention, and Info-Santé 811 can advise.
The Number To Remember: About 35 Micrograms
We lined up the published IQA and U.S. AQI formulas and found they flag smoke at almost the same fine particle level:
Quebec's IQA turns "poor" (51) when the three-hour PM2.5 average passes 35 micrograms per cubic metre.
The U.S. AQI reaches 100 at 35.4 micrograms. That figure comes from the U.S. EPA's current PM2.5 breakpoints.
A fine particle IQA of 100 means about 70 micrograms, double the reference level.
The averaging periods differ, so the numbers will not match hour by hour, but both point to the same smoke level.
Is There A Forest Fire In Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Today?
SOPFEU, the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu, is Quebec's wildfire agency. Its interactive map shows active wildfires and restrictions by region, including Montérégie. On 20 October 2026, SOPFEU's fire danger index was offline for the season; it returns in spring once the snow cover disappears. Report any fire by calling 911 or SOPFEU at 1-800-463-3389.
Smoke from distant fires is the more common local concern. Recent episodes:
5 June 2023: northern Quebec smoke reached Montérégie, and public health advised closing windows (Le Canada Français).
6 to 7 June 2025: smoke from Prairie fires brought an ECCC poor air quality warning for the Montreal region (Time Out Montreal).
18 July 2026: ECCC issued an air quality warning for the Montreal area because of wildfire smoke (CTV News).
How To Keep Wildfire Smoke Out Of Your Home
These steps follow Montérégie public health guidance and Quebec government advice.
Close doors and windows while indoor temperatures stay comfortable; if heat and smoke arrive together, staying cool comes first.
Turn off the air exchanger, if your home has one, to limit outdoor air coming in.
If your home has a central mechanical ventilation system, cut its outdoor air intake to the minimum unless it has a MERV 13 or higher filter.
Run a portable air purifier with a HEPA filter, sized for the room, where you spend the most time.
Skip candles, frying, vacuuming and smoking until the smoke clears.
Check the furnace filter during smoke and replace it when it looks dark brown or black, which can be well before its usual interval.
Choosing A Filter For Smoke Season In Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
What MERV rating do you need for wildfire smoke? MERV 13. The U.S. EPA recommends a MERV 13 or higher filter in central systems during smoke, and says most furnaces and HVAC systems can accommodate one when the filter is replaced often. Check the size and fit as usual.
Follow ECCC alerts and public health instructions first. Filterbuy Canada's action line sits alongside them: when the U.S. AQI on the map above reaches 100, we recommend four steps.
Switch the furnace or central system to a MERV 13 filter.
Set the thermostat fan to "On" so the system filters continuously.
Run a portable HEPA air cleaner in each occupied room, bedrooms first.
Close the house up until the smoke clears.
An AQI of 100 is close to where the Saint-Anicet IQA turns poor. MERV 13 treats the whole house; a HEPA unit treats one room harder. Use both.
Homes with electric baseboards, and most apartments, have no central filter to upgrade. There, portable HEPA air cleaners are the main defence, not an add-on. Pick a unit whose smoke clean air delivery rate (CADR) is at least two-thirds of the room's area in square feet: a 300 sq ft bedroom (about 28 square metres) needs about 200. The EPA advises avoiding air cleaners that produce ozone.
Valleyfield had a fine particle smog warning on 30 November 2018, so we suggest keeping MERV 13 in through the heating season, with a spare on hand.
"Most systems I test are not struggling because the filter is too efficient. They are struggling because it has been in there since spring."
David Clark, Licensed HVAC Technician, Filterbuy HVAC Solutions
Filterbuy Canada carries MERV 13 Optimal filters within a range of more than 600 filter sizes, and an air filter subscription keeps a spare coming. Pleated filters capture particles, not the gases behind smoke smell; for odours, see the Odour Eliminator line. Compare the two layers in MERV 13 vs. HEPA for wildfire smoke.
"I don't want anyone to feel like they need an HVAC license just to pick the right filter."
Michelle Wan, Brand Manager and Air Quality Writer, Filterbuy
Our Take
"Salaberry-de-Valleyfield residents read their air from a station across Lake Saint-François. That gap is why we pair the live map with a filter plan you can put in place before the official numbers move."
Filterbuy Canada
Essential Resources For Tracking Smoke Near Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS): national fire map.
ECCC FireWork forecast maps: hourly wildfire smoke and PM2.5 forecasts for the next 72 hours.
Filterbuy.ca's Montreal wildfire and smoke map, Lévis wildfire and smoke map and Canada wildfire and smoke map.
Supporting Statistics
Up to 2,500 deaths a year: Wildfire smoke caused up to 2,500 deaths a year in Canada from long-term exposure, and up to 240 from short-term exposure, in 2013 to 2018 (Health Canada).
75% gets inside: Indoor PM2.5 typically reaches 75% of outdoor levels during wildfire smoke. Closing windows cut that from 76% to 62% (NCCEH, 2026).
57% less with an air cleaner: Portable air cleaners lowered indoor PM2.5 by 57% on average across 10 wildfire studies (NCCEH, 2025).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a wildfire near Salaberry-de-Valleyfield today?
Check the live map at the top of this page, then the SOPFEU map. Report any fire to 911.
Does Salaberry-de-Valleyfield have an AQHI reading?
No. ECCC's Quebec AQHI forecasts cover only Montreal, Quebec City and Gatineau. The closest official reading is the Saint-Anicet IQA, 19.1 km from downtown.
Should I turn off my air exchanger during wildfire smoke?
Yes. Turn the air exchanger off, or set it to recirculation, to limit outdoor air coming in.
What MERV rating do I need for wildfire smoke?
MERV 13. Filterbuy Canada carries MERV 13 Optimal filters in more than 600 sizes, and Filterbuy's custom air filter order covers sizes that are not listed.
Glossary
IQA (Air Quality Index): Quebec's hourly air quality index, reported by station.
Air Quality Health Index (AQHI): ECCC's 1 to 10+ health risk scale for outdoor air.
U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI): the 0 to 500 U.S. scale shown in many weather apps.
PM2.5: fine particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller, the main health concern in wildfire smoke.
RSQAQ: the Réseau de surveillance de la qualité de l'air du Québec, Quebec's air monitoring network.
SOPFEU: the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu, Quebec's forest fire agency.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC): the federal department that issues AQHI forecasts and air quality alerts.
Air exchanger (HRV or ERV): a ventilation unit that swaps indoor air for outdoor air.
MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value): a 1 to 16 rating of how well an HVAC filter captures particles; Filterbuy labels MERV 13 "Optimal."
HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air): a filter standard used in portable air purifiers.
Get Ready Before The Next Smoke Event
Start with the live map and the Saint-Anicet IQA. Before the next smoke event, put a MERV 13 air filter from Filterbuy Canada in your size and keep a spare.