DETROIT — Canadian wildfire smoke endangering Michigan's air quality also continues to cause activity cancellations and facility closures on Friday. Cities across Metro Detroit shut down beach areas, splash pads, and pools because of the air quality. Greenfield Village remained closed for a second day, along with Red Oaks water park in Madison Heights. Detroit officials said Friday that ...

A crew works in Ferndale on replacing sewer lines as the haze from Canadian and Minnesota wildfires hangs in the sky, playing with the color of the sun on Friday, July 17, 2026.

Richard Burr / The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS

DETROIT — Canadian wildfire smoke endangering Michigan's air quality also continues to cause activity cancellations and facility closures on Friday.

Cities across Metro Detroit shut down beach areas, splash pads, and pools because of the air quality. Greenfield Village remained closed for a second day, along with Red Oaks water park in Madison Heights.

Detroit officials said Friday that municipal employees stationed in offices will work remotely, including those who normally provide services at the Coleman Young Municipal Center. The building is closed to the public on Friday.

Officials also said full on-site city services are expected to resume on Monday.

"What we are experiencing in Detroit is unprecedented and requires a full response from the city to help make sure residents know how to protect themselves and what resources are available," Mayor Mary Sheffield said in a statement.

The city also announced its Public Safety Fun Day, scheduled for 1-5 p.m. Saturday at Palmer Park, has been postponed due to unpredictable air quality and the threat of severe thunderstorms.

"The health and safety of Detroit residents and employees is our top priority," officials said in a statement. They plan to announce when a later date has been set.

Elsewhere, Royal Oak city officials said the Normandy Oaks splash pad is closed, and all outdoor programming is cancelled for the day. In addition, the city's Salter Center is closed on Friday, and all indoor programming at the facility is cancelled.

In Livonia, officials said even indoor pools at the Kirksey Recreation Center would be shut down until Friday afternoon, when they would decide whether to reopen.

Rochester Hills city officials said Friday that its beach at Spencer Park remains closed due to the dangerous air quality.

"The Play Ball event scheduled for this afternoon is being canceled, and we are monitoring the air conditions for tomorrow to make a decision later this afternoon on the Tons of Trucks event slated for Saturday at Borden Park," they said.

'Our eyes burned'

The Ann Arbor Art reopened later than usual on Friday morning due to the smoke.

At the Ann Arbor Art Fair, one of the nation's largest outdoor art fairs that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year; artists faced unusual challenges due to the poor conditions. Organizers gave vendors the option to close their booths early Thursday and open later than scheduled Friday as smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the area.

Peggy Slattery, who sells oil paintings with her husband and is based in Grand Rapids, stayed open the full time regardless, but said many did not do the same: “It was very slow yesterday, and even the food trucks shut down because they weren’t getting enough people to stay open.”

Despite the dwindling number of customers, Slattery kept a positive outlook.

“Our eyes burned, but the Canadians are having it so much worse than us," she said. "We're sitting from a very privileged perspective. Our house isn't going down. We just have less customers.”

Phyllis Buchanan and Dorothy Fleming spent several hours at the art fair Thursday and returned Friday, even after Fleming became ill from the smoky conditions.

“The mask helped her better than me," Fleming said.

Sarah Gelsanliter, who has sold ceramics at the fair for about 12 years and is based in Milan, said the conditions were difficult but not entirely unexpected.

“I have a mask. I haven't been wearing it because it's so hot, and it's like a trade-off of how uncomfortable I want to be. A little bit of itchy eyes, a little bit of a low-grade headache. Not super fun, but you can't control it. We've been doing the Art Fair for so long, and it's notorious for really hot weather or storms. We're always expecting something.”

Bee Crane, who sells cut-paper artwork and woodcarvings from Cleveland, Ohio, echoed that sentiment.

“Obviously it's disappointing, but some of it goes with the territory because we're doing outdoor art fairs. Weather is always a factor. So would it be nice if we made all our money in the first day? Of course. But we just do the best we can, put our work out here and hope we connect with people.”

On Thursday, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said it asks anyone with a campground reservation through Sunday to cancel them because of the air quality. It said it is waiving cancellation fees and providing refunds.