B.C. wildfires: Smoky skies bulletin issued again for Southern Interior

With wildfires continuing to burn in the Southern Interior, Environment Canada has again issued a smoky skies bulletin for the region.

As of Tuesday morning, there are five ‘wildfires of note’ from Kamloops to the border, with the biggest being the Crater Creek blaze southwest of Keremeos at 43,496 hectares (ha).

Next is the Bush Creek East blaze in the Shuswap at 43,067 ha, while the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna is listed at 12,634 ha. The Rossmoore Lake fire, near Kamloops, is 11,062 ha, with the Upper Park Rill Creek fire in the South Okanagan at 1,796 ha.

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“These regions are being impacted or are likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke over the next 24-48 hours,” said Environment Canada.

“Many regions on the North Coast and in the Interior continue to be impacted by wildfire smoke.”

At noon on Tuesday, the North Okanagan had a low-risk rating (3) on the province’s air quality health index (AQHI) while the Central Okanagan had a moderate-risk rating (4). Kamloops was at 6 while Penticton’s rating was unavailable.

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The AQHI has a 1 to 10-plus rating divided into four zones: Low risk (1-3), moderate risk (4-6), high risk (7-10) and very high risk (10-plus).

Quesnel and Fort St. John had the province’s highest ratings, with each at 8.

Also Tuesday, the national weather agency issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the South Thompson region, which encompasses Lillooet, Cache Creek and Spences Bridge.

According to Environment Canada, strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain is expected Tuesday afternoon and evening, along with possible lightning.

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