Travel Reporter's Summer Trip Consumed by Wildfire Smoke
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- The reporter's family flew from Geneva to Chicago in mid-July with children ages 1 and 4 to celebrate her son's first birthday and her mother-in-law's 80th in Glenn, Michigan.
- Wildfires were tearing through France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy at the same time, while Geneva endured heat waves reaching nearly 104°F.
- Canadian wildfire smoke created an orange-tinted haze over Chicago that burned her throat within seconds of stepping outside the hotel.
- Air quality forecasts in the Glenn, Michigan area reached "hazardous" levels, forcing the family to abandon beach plans and stay indoors with windows sealed.
- The reporter had spent the past year covering the war in Iran, airport chaos, sky-high prices, heat waves, and fires for The New York Times.
- Her husband's cousins arrived at the Lake Michigan cottage carrying air purifiers as the family improvised indoor activities to pass the time.
Why it matters: A journalist who spent the year documenting how war, extreme heat, and wildfires reshape travel found herself trapped indoors by the same forces, illustrating how climate-driven disruptions are now overriding even milestone family occasions across continents.
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