A smoky skies advisory issued earlier in the week for most of B.C.’s Southern Interior has been extended for a third straight day.
On Thursday, provincial health officials said while wildfire smoke levels have dropped since Tuesday, many areas will continue to be impacted during the next 24 to 48 hours.
According to the province, forecast models show the potential for U.S. wildfire smoke intermittently blanketing parts of southern B.C.
“With falling temperatures overnight, temperature inversions in mountain valleys can increase the likelihood of smoke being trapped near the ground,” said the province.
The bulletin added that areas near the Talbott Creek, Doctor Creek and Woodbury Creek wildfires in the Kootenays will continue to be impacted by smoke.
In the Okanagan, the air quality health index (AQHI) is listed at 2, or low, across the region.
On Wednesday, the North and Central Okanagan were listed at 2, while the South Okanagan was rated at 3.
On Tuesday, though, rankings for the Central and South shot up from 2 to 10-plus, with the North rated at 7.
A website dedicated to wildfire smoke projections, FireSmoke Canada, is forecasting ebbs and flows of wildfire smoke through the weekend.
For example, its projected forecast for Friday morning shows no smoke over the Okanagan, but come Friday night, a build-up of smoke will stretch from mid-Vancouver Island to the East Kootenays, reaching as far north as Kelowna.
For more about FireSmoke Canada, click here.