Sixteen regions of British Columbia’s southeast and southern Interior are under a smoky skies warning Friday from dozens of wildfires.
The bulletin impacts Arrow Lakes to Slocan Lake, Boundary, Central Okanagan, East Columbia and East Kootenay north to Invermere, as well as Cranbrook and Elk Valley.
It also covers the Fraser Canyon including Lillooet, Kootenay Lake, Nicola, the North Okanagan, Shuswap, South Okanagan, West Columbia, West Kootenay, Yoho Park and Kootenay Park.
Wildfires of note in the area include the Downton Lake and Casper Creek fires, burning west of Lillooet, the Rossmoore Lake, Lower East Adams and Bush Creek east fires burning in and around Kamloops, and the Eagle Bluff fire south of Kelowna.
In the southeastern corner of B.C., they include the Horsethief Creek fire by Invermere, the St. Mary’s River fire north of Cranbrook, and the Lladnar Creek fire north of Fernie.
“The smoke will always be a problem downwind of the fire and it really depends on the wind strength and directions that control where the smoke is going to be headed,” Environment Canada meteorologist Derek Lee told Global News.
While a hot weekend is on deck, Lee said temperatures are expected to cool down next week, possibly bringing showers.
“With those showers in place, we’re going to get a flow from the Pacific, which can bring ‘cleaner air,’ so to speak, that hopefully materializes to be the forecast next week.”
As it stands, there are no air quality advisories in effect for Metro Vancouver, the coast, or northern parts of the province.
The BC Wildfire Service is currently battling 354 wildfires across the province, including 15 wildfires that are highly visible or threaten human health and safety.
The province continues to experience tinder dry conditions, with 28 of its 34 water basins ranked in either the most severe or second-most severe classifications of drought.
For a list of up-to-date evacuation orders, alerts, resources and wildfires, visit Global BC’s wildfire list.
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