As heat warnings lift, wildfire smoke moves into Okanagan, Kamloops

The heat warnings that have persisted in much of B.C. for the past week have been removed as of today, Aug. 2, but are being replaced by a special air quality statement due to wildfires in the Thompson-Okanagan region.

“During a wildfire, smoke conditions can change quickly over short distances and can vary considerably hour-by-hour,” the Environment Canada special air quality statement says. “Wildfire smoke is a natural part of our environment but it is important to be mindful that exposure to smoke may affect your health.”

The smoke advisory covers much of the Southern Interior from the Fraser Canyon through to the West Kootenays.

While it doesn’t include Kamloops, the Environment Canada weather forecast for that city notes that local smoke is expected today.

“People with pre-existing health conditions, respiratory infections such as COVID-19, older adults, pregnant women and infants, children, and sensitive individuals are more likely to experience health effects from smoke exposure,” the statement says.

Wildfires are burning throughout the Thompson and Okanagan with the largest in the Okanagan being the Keremeos Creek fire 21 kilometres southwest of Penticton which has burned at 2,790 hectares as of yesterday. That has forced evacuations in the Apex Mountain area.

READ MORE: Apex Mountain village being evacuated due to wildfire

Further to the west, the Nohomin Creek fire, 1.7 km northwest of Lytton, had grown to 3,162 hectares by yesterday.

Removing the heat warning doesn’t mean that it’s not going to be mostly hot.

READ MORE: More daily temperature records smashed in the Interior

High temperatures are expected to reach 31 Celsius in Kamloops today and 30 C in the Okanagan.

Winds are expected to gust to 30 km/h in Kamloops and 50 km/h in parts of the Okanagan starting this afternoon and into this evening.

Last week, the forecast was for a drop of about 10 C today from the high 30 degree temperatures experienced for much of last week, with a chance of rain. That’s now been pushed ahead to Thursday.

The high temperature for Kamloops is forecast to be 29 C with a 30% chance of showers tomorrow, dropping to 20 C on Thursday with a 70% chance of showers.

For the Okanagan, the high tomorrow is expected to reach 30 C under mainly sunny skies but drop to a high of 19 C on Thursday with a 70% chance of showers.

The sun is forecast to return on Friday in time for the weekend with temperatures climbing back into the low 30s.

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