Critical air quality alert ended for northern Sask.

Buffalo Narrows, Peter Pond Lake, Île à la Crosse and Beauval, Sask., are no longer under a critical air quality alert.

Environment Canada issued the alert Thursday evening, saying the smoke from wildfires was causing poor air quality and reduced visibility.

Residents in the area were advised to stay indoors.

“Keep your indoor air clean. Keep your doors and windows closed if the temperature in your home is comfortable. Use an air purifier with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter in a room where you spend a lot of time. Avoid air purifiers that produce ozone. Check the filter and change it if required,” the alert read.

Residents were also being advised to relocate to parts of the community with clean air like libraries, shopping malls or community centres.

“Wildfire smoke can be harmful to everyone’s health even at low concentrations. Continue to take actions to protect your health and reduce exposure to smoke,” read the alert.

“People with lung disease (such as asthma) or heart disease, older adults, children, pregnant people, and people who work outdoors are at higher risk of experiencing health effects caused by wildfire smoke.”

Terri Lang with Environment Canada said the air quality is likely to be worse in the morning hours.

“The air settles on the surface in the morning and can be quite bad and then during the afternoon it tends to get a little bit better but that also tends to be the time of day that the fires tend to be a little more aggressive.”

The winds are currently pushing most of the smoke towards Alberta but might change in the coming days.

“It may take the smoke a little bit further to the north and to the northeast,” Lang said.

Once the air quality levels in an area reach the moderate category, Environment Canada will send out an air quality statement.

You can find a live air quality map at Fire and Smoke Map (airnow.gov).

Lang added that the hot and dry weather in the northern areas of the province is expected to worsen over the week.

“Not favourable at all for trying to fight those fires, people up there are going to have to be vigilant when it comes to fire starts.”