Full Notification

Good evening this is Mayor Mark Sokolich of the Borough of Fort Lee. The purpose of this emergency call is to address the current unhealthy air quality conditions and odors that we are presently experiencing in our community and throughout all of northern New Jersey.
These conditions are caused by over 400 wildfires now raging in Canada. Southerly winds have brought the haze smoke and odors from these fires over 2000 miles down through the northeastern United States including the state of New jersey and all the way through to the Carolinas.

This condition is expected to last thru Thursday… this prediction may change dependent on any change in the wind patterns
The New Jersey Department of Environmental protection has deemed the air quality in northern New Jersey, including the Borough of Fort Lee, to be unhealthy for young children, the elderly and people with underlying lung conditions such as asthma COPD and emphysema. New York City has issued a red alert earlier this evening and has likewise deemed the air quality to be unhealthy from members of the general public.

We ask all Fort Lee residents to be mindful of the current conditions and take steps to make sure that you remain safe and healthy. Those steps include:  1) remaining indoors whenever possible during this period and until further notice especially those individuals with pre-existing conditions; everyone should limit their time outside while these conditions exist; and, 2) to the extent possible please keep all windows shut, cover any fireplace openings and any other area which would allow exterior air to enter your dwelling; and,  3) avoid outside exercise and any strenuous activities outside in the open air.
It is recommended that you run the air conditioning on a recirculation setting to ensure that all air is recirculated from within the interior of your Dwelling. 

Our public schools are open however we ask all families with school-aged children to regularly check the Board of Education Websites for any further notices and to remain mindful of the precautionary steps mentioned in this call.  For those families with children participating in any youth sports or community activities we ask that they also regularly check the applicable websites for any additional notices or information while we experience these air quality conditions.
Also very important I ask all Fort Lee residents to please check in on your elderly neighbors and those residents who are in need of assistance. We are one community here and have always looked after each other during extenuating circumstances and this is one of them.
Fort Lee please remain indoors whenever possible until the current air quality conditions improves and please also remember to regularly check all of our local social media sites such as Fort Lee today on Facebook and Instagram as well as our Fort Lee official website at fortleenj.org for further notices and information.

Good Evening and Thank You,

Mayor Mark Sokolich
 

Instructions:

Important message from Mayor Mark Sokolich in regards to the current air quality conditions.