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| ©AFP/Getty Images |
| A haze surrounds the Palermo neighborhood of the Argentine capital early Thursday. |
The smoke, from about 300 fires, is blamed for at least two fatal traffic accidents this week that left eight people dead.
Sections of major highways and the Buenos Aires port, among the busiest in the world, have been closed. Incoming flights to the city's domestic airport, Jorge Newbery Airpark, have been diverted.
The Argentine government has blamed farmers looking to clear their land for crops and grazing for the fires, which are estimated to cover 173,000 acres (70,000 hectares).
"This is the largest fire of this kind that we've ever seen," Argentine Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo said Thursday.
Randazzo called the situation a "disaster."
As of Friday morning, little progress had been made extinguishing the blazes.
No rain is predicted for the next few days, but the National Meteorological Service predicts that the winds will change direction soon, dispersing the smoke.
On Friday morning, the National Roads Administration closed sections of the heavily traveled Panamericana Highway, which leads in and out of Buenos Aires. Spokesman Ernesto Arriaga said "visibility is 5 meters" (about 16 feet) in some sections of the highway.
"Covering highways with smoke just to clear a field of weeds is unforgivable," Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez told Radio Diez. "It's incredibly irresponsible."
Hospitals have reported an increase in visitors complaining of breathing problems, sore throats and burning eyes in the past three days.
Citing a high level of carbon monoxide in the air, officials have encouraged people not to exercise outside.
Schools in Pilar, a city in the province of Buenos Aires, were closed Friday because of the gray, thick air.
The smoke has obscured views of some of the capital's landmarks, such the Obelisco monument and the government house, Casa Rosada, and people were seen walking on the city streets covering their faces with clothes.
This month, Argentina's farmers suspended a three-week strike over a new government export tax on commodities.
The bitter lockout left grocery shelves empty and caused major friction between President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's government and Argentina's large agricultural sector.
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Comment: Interesting article considering that on Thursday, April 17, a fireball fell somewhere in or nearby Entre Rios, 260 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. Mariano Peter from the Entrerriana Astronomy Association said there were reports from 4 witnesses. One of them described, "a strong light that passed at a high speed through the sky and at a low altitude, going towards the south and then it fell in the distance." Another witness said, "it was very bright and it changed color between green and red."
The first fireball was reported in Entre Rios on April 6th, 2008. A witness said: "For three or four seconds I saw an object in flames, changing color until it turned blue when it approached the ground.'' A fire department source said the impact was felt for miles around. The next day a fragment of the space rock was recovered.
See: Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets: Damages, Disasters, Injuries, Deaths, and Very Close Calls where this item has been added to The List as a strong possible event.