Smoke in the Interior expected to stay until Friday

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KAMLOOPS (NEWS1130) – All that smoke in the Interior from Colorado wildfires is going to stick around a while.

Wildfire Management‘s Fionna Tollovsen confirms the haze will last until at least Friday.

And Tollovsen says the smoke is from a lot farther than first thought.

“We’ve actually confirmed that the smoke is not only coming from Colorado, but from Siberia as well,” she says. “The fires in Russia generate smoke that goes up into the atmosphere, and it gets caught in the jet stream, which brings it down across the Pacific and then it hits the BC coast.”

She notes the haze makes it harder for them to spot any new fires on the ground here.

Due to the smoke, air quality in Kamloops is listed as moderate, currently the highest risk in the province on the BC Air Quality index.

Fire risk a concern as temperatures rise across BC

With 36 active wildfires burning throughout the province, you’re being asked to keep your guard up.

It’s been a slow start to summer and that might not be the best thing for fire crews.

“Because last year we had a really slow fire season, coming into this year, May was starting to heat up and then June got cold and rainy. People haven’t had to think about fire safety,” believes Marg Drysdale with the Coastal Fire Centre.

She’s worried that people have become complacent in the wilderness.

“We’d really like people to think about what they’re doing, think about where they’re placing their campfire and think about the safety of those around them.”

Campfires are still allowed on the South Coast, but they must be kept to half a metre by half a metre in size.

The fire danger rating remains low across most of BC.

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