‘General haze:’ wildfire smoke drifting towards mid-Island
NANAIMO — While Vancouver Island has been spared the worst of smoky conditions plaguing much of North America, our luck mainly depends on favourable weather patterns.
Environment Canada issued air quality warnings and alerts on Monday, July 20, for areas in B.C.’s Interior, including Metro Vancouver, with Vancouver Island waking up to hazy conditions Monday morning, but no alerts were in place.
Air quality meteorologist with the BC government Gavin King said the haze is due to smoke being pulled from nearby wildfires, including two out-of-control wildfires in the Fraser Canyon, as well as fires in the Northwest Territories and the United States.
“We’re not seeing a particularly long stretch of smoke along the southwestern coast. I would expect to see it remain kind of the same today and into tomorrow (Tues), and then generally dissipate primarily into the 22nd…and then leave more completely as we reach the end of the week. But I would still expect to see a general haze over the next while.”




