Do You Smell Smoke In IL? It's From Kansas Wildfires, NWS Says

ILLINOIS — If you smelled smoke Thursday morning, there's no need to fear, the National Weather Service said.

The smoke some Chicago-area residents were reporting is from wildfires in Kansas, and traveled 600 miles to Illinois thanks to a cold front moving in with strong winds.

The National Weather Service Chicago sent a tweet to reassure early risers just before 4 a.m. — and was met with reports from residents throughout the area, from Chicago to the suburbs.

"I smelled in when I left for work near O'Hare," one resident tweeted. "My daughter said she smells it in Lincoln park and I smell it heavily in the west loop. That’s mind blowing."

In the suburbs, a Darien resident took to Facebook to ask about the smell.

"I live around 75th/Cass - is there a structure fire somewhere close right now?" he wrote, adding he even saw a smoky haze. "I got woken up 15 mins ago by the smell of smoke outside."

"It woke me in Plainfield," another woman tweeted.

Fires were reported in central Kansas, and Hays Post said homes were destroyed by fire in northwest Kansas, fanned by 100 mph winds.