Helicopters with water buckets battling the Flood Falls Trail wildfire pick up water from the Fraser River, in Hope, B.C., Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (Image: Canadian Press)

By Canadian Press

Wildfire smoke from B.C. and U.S. spreads east as several blazes still uncontained

Sep 13, 2022 | 11:45 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Smoke from wildfires in British Columbia, Washington, and Idaho have wafted east, prompting air quality advisories from Vancouver Island into Alberta.

Environment Canada is maintaining advisories for a portion of northeast B.C. and the southern half of the province and has extended air quality statements across southern Alberta.

A full list of public weather alerts can be found on the Environment Canada website.

It warns that fine particulates contained in the smoke are likely to increase through the day.

The BlueSky Canada smoke forecast map shows little relief from murky conditions over the next 72 hours.

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Wildfires contributing to the smoke include a 287-square kilometre blaze west of Hudson’s Hope that has forced more than 1,000 people from their homes in northeast B.C.

The B.C. Wildfire Service says crews are working to contain the east flank of the suspected lightning-caused fire, which threatens Hudson’s Hope as well as the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, a key power generator for the province.

Fires east of Vancouver have also prompted evacuation orders and alerts west and east of Hope, as well as the closure of the eastbound lanes of Highway 1. One eastbound lane has since reopened.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2022.

The Canadian Press