An air quality alert for northwest Minnesota has been extended to cover the entire state and run through Monday.

An alert originally set for northwest Minnesota was set to expire at 6 p.m. Friday.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said active wildfires in Canada, which had been relatively quiet due to rainfall in June, have intensified as hotter temperatures begin to dry out fuel sources.

The extended alert runs through 9 a.m. Monday.

“We already have footprints of large wildfires in place before the main wildfire season started, and so that’s given us a little bit of concern, not only for, you know, currently what we’re dealing with now, but through pretty much the rest of the summer,” said Ryan Lueck, an air quality forecaster with the MPCA.

A large portion of the state, from roughly south of Alexandria to the north, west and eastern borders of the state, is listed in the “very unhealthy” air quality index.

In the unhealthy air index, anyone can “experience serious heart and lung effects such as asthma attack, heart attack or stroke,” the MPCA release said. People should avoid prolonged or vigorous outdoor activities.

From south of Alexandria to about Mankato, including the Twin Cities metro area, is listed in the “unhealthy” range and farther south is listed as “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” which includes people with chronic pulmonary diseases, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or pregnancy, as well as children and older adults.

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