PORTLAND, Maine — Smoke from Canadian wildfires worsened air quality in the eastern U.S. on Wednesday as several Midwestern states battled conditions deemed unhealthy by the federal government.

The fires have forced thousands of Canadians to flee their homes and sent smoke as far as Europe.

In the U.S., smoke lingered on the skylines of cities from Kansas City to Minneapolis, and a swath of the region had unhealthy air quality Wednesday, according to an Environmental Protection Agency map.

In Stoughton, Wisconsin, Nature’s Garden Preschool was keeping its kids indoors Wednesday due to the bad air quality, which interferes with the daily routine, said assistant teacher Bailey Pollard. The smoke looked like a coming storm, he said.

The 16 or 17 kids ages 12 weeks to 5 years old would typ

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