smoke in the city

Maybe it's just because I've been reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, but lately I feel like I'm living in a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For the past week there has been a cloud of smoke covering the entire city of Buenos Aires, so thick in the early mornings and evenings that there have been multiple traffic accidents due to low visiblity. Apparently the grasslands in the south of Entre Rios and the north of Buenos Aires provinces are on fire, and the wind is blowing the smoke directly into the capital. It's unclear why the fire can't be put out, or why the smoke is coming directly and exclusively into the city. Due to the recent agricultural strike, there are all kinds of rumors floating around that the striking producers have been setting the fires on purpose as a sort of revenge tactic. I've also heard people say that the government is involved, because the fires are making the land useless for soy production, which was the issue at stake in the original agricultural strike. It's all very shady and confusing, and the only thing being reported on the news is the effect the smoke is having on the city, with very little about where it's coming from or how to stop it. And the effects are strong - everything smells like smoke, you can't get the smell out of your clothes or hair, and traffic is terrible, because at peak rush hours you can hardly see the road for the smoke. The hospitals are apparently on yellow alert from the number of cases of asthma and other smoke-related health problems, and the municipal government is recommending that schools temporarily suspend their physical education activities. According to the news, yesterday was the worst day of smoke, with carbon monoxide levels reaching 4 times the normal limit. (According to them, this is still not enough to pose an immediate threat, though the long-term consequences are unknown). Since it tends to clear up a little bit during the day, I haven't had any personal health issues, but I am started to feel a bit like a smoked salmon. I'm just waiting for a cloud of yellow butterflies to descend and blow the smoke away...