PODCAST:
July 29, 2026 ~ Mark Hackel, Macomb County executive, talks to Jamie Edmonds about a letter he sent to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offering to help fight wildfires.
MACOMB COUNTY ~ After Canadian wildfire smoke blanketed Michigan for about a week earlier in July, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel is offering help to Michigan’s international neighbor.
He joined WJR Wednesday to discuss his response to the wildfires, saying that he sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, not to “complain or point fingers,” but to offer some support. He said that his letter offered to “rally some troops” from Macomb’s fire agencies, public safety teams, and its emergency management. He said that Carney has yet to respond.
“It was just disheartening hearing a lot of political personalities out there choosing criticism over solutions, and pointing fingers and ultimatums,” Hackel said. “I’m thinking, ‘hang on a second, we don’t get elected to admire problems.’ If you want to complain about it, that’s fine. That’s going to happen. Media reports on the issues and keeps us in tune to (them), Our job is to figure out how do we come up with solutions.”
The wildfire smoke deeply reduced air quality in Michigan to “hazardous” levels, causing an estimated $4 billion in losses to the state’s economy.
