Smoky skies bulletin extended for B.C.’s Southern Interior

The smoky skies bulletin that was issued for B.C.’s Southern Interior on Tuesday has continued into Wednesday.

With smoke drifting northward from wildfires in the U.S., many sections of southern B.C. were blanketed by smoke on Tuesday afternoon.

But as of 1 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, smoke levels throughout the valley have dissipated greatly, but not entirely.

“Smoke concentrations have improved in many areas over the last 24 hours,” said the provincial government. “However, some impacts are still being observed.

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“The fires in Washington and Oregon continue to show extreme fire behaviour and there is continued potential for southern B.C. to receive long-range transport of wildfire smoke from the United States.”

Shortly after noon on Tuesday, the Central and South Okanagan regions were listed at 10-plus, the highest rating, on B.C.’s air quality health index (AQHI).

The North Okanagan, meanwhile, was given a 7 rating, or high.

2:05 Washington wildfire smoke leads to alerts, health warnings in southern B.C.

As for AQHI levels on Wednesday, the North and Central were listed at 2, or low, while the South was a tad higher at 3, but still in the low category.

Environment Canada said during a wildfire, smoke conditions can change quickly over short distances and can vary considerably hour by hour.

For more about the smoky skies bulletin, click here.

To view projected wildfire smoke forecasts from FireSmoke.ca, click here.