Toxic smoke from wildfires has triggered a major air quality alert across New York City, urging over 10 million Americans to stay indoors. The fire, which started Tuesday in New Jersey’s Ocean County, has spread over 15,000 acres and is only half-contained. Officials warn it may not be fully under control until it rains this weekend.

Toxic particles, known as PM2.5, “burrow deep inside the lungs,” raising the risk of asthma, heart attacks, cancer, and dementia. The New York Department of Health issued a “fine particulate matter air quality health advisory” for all five boroughs and nearby counties. Today, the Air Quality Index could exceed 100, a level “harmful to vulnerable populations.”

The fire remains active, said NJDEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, expecting the blaze to “grow in a place that is unpopulated.” No injuries have been reported, but 12 structures remain at risk. Officials say the fire started from an “insufficiently extinguished bonfire.” Joseph Kling, 19, has been charged with arson.

New Jersey is facing its peak wildfire season, worsened by drought and dry conditions. So far in 2025, “662 fires have burned more than 16,500 acres,” nearly double last year’s count.