It’s a breath of fresh air, literally, for southern B.C. right now.
The province is relatively free of wildfire smoke that is blanketing much of the rest of Canada. Air quality warnings are in effect for several areas of the country, stretching from northern Alberta and into Ontario due to fires raging in the prairie provinces.
“With that westerly flow we’ve been having, it’s been bringing us some fairly fresh Pacific air. However, for the rest of provinces, unfortunately, fires in northeastern B.C. and then through the Prairies are generating quite a bit of smoke moving eastward,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Bobby Sekhon.
The current forecast doesn’t show signs of shifting, at least in the short term.
“For a number of days, I cannot see the bulk of British Columbia getting much smoke apart from the northeast, but, for sure, we’re going to have to follow that through the summer, really,” said Sekhon.
He pointed out that the situation can change quickly. The hot, dry weather in the Southern Interior this week raises concerns about escalating wildfire activity, generating local smoke.
“I’m not a fire weather expert,” said Sekhon. “but we do have a drier stretch of weather coming up for the next seven to 10 days here. Also, hot temperatures arriving into the Okanagan, Southern Interior, especially into this weekend.”
He advises people to be prepared. “Being aware of past summer where we’ve had poor air quality, it’s important to think ahead and have a plan for how you’re going to try to keep the air clean or (have) access to clean air.”
As of 11 a.m. on Tuesday, there were 75 active wildfires in B.C., but only one in the Kamloops Fire Centre, and it was under control.
