Smoky skies in the Interior expected to persist this weekend

A smoky haze blanketing the Interior is expected to hang around until Monday, according to an Environment Canada meteorologist.

“There are fires south of the border right to California so I think the smoke is drifting up from south of the line and it will probably stick around in some shape or form unless we get thunderstorms that will clear the air a bit, until Monday,” said Doug Lundquist, meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Air quality in the Thompson Okanagan is considered to be “good” at this time, according to the Real-Time Air Quality Index, with the exception of Vernon listed as "fair" with 56 PM 2.5. The lower the number, the cleaner the air.

The smoky view from a Kamloops neighbourhood, July 31. | Credit: Brie Welton

Air quality is measured by fine particles in the air, called PM2.5, which is the number of tiny particles or droplets that are two and one half microns or less in width in the air, according to B.C.'s Ministry of Environment.

The scale ranges from 1 to 500+. Anything above 100 PM 2.5 is considered to carry a health risk.

“From our understanding, it’s not just in the Interior (that’s experiencing the haze), it’s in other parts of B.C. as well,” said Gagan Lidhran, fire information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service, adding that the smoke is mainly coming from wildfires in Washington and Montana.


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Carli Berry

Carli Berry has been telling stories in the Okanagan for the past three years and after finding her footing in the newspaper industry, joined the Infonews team in January 2020. Recipient of the 2019 MA Murray award for feature writing, Carli is passionate about stories that involve housing, business and the environment. Born on Vancouver Island, she is happy to say Okanagan Lake reminds, her slightly, of the ocean. Carli can be reached at (250) 864-7494 or email cberry@infonews.ca.