Smoke from Interior wildfires trigger Air Quality Statement for the Okanagan

An Air Quality Statement has been issued by Environment Canada for the Okanagan Wednesday.

Smoke from the province’s Interior wildfires has been wafting into the region, triggering the statement for some communities for the next 48 hours.

The statement applies to Fraser Canyon (South) from Lytton to Choate, Penticton, Summerland, Naramata, Keremeos, Oliver and Osoyoos, Hundred Mile House, North Thompson, Kootenay Lake including Creston, and East Kootenay – South including Cranbrook and Kimberly.

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CityNews Meteorologist Carl Lam says if you’re traveling east towards the Okanagan, “Don’t forget there are wildfires burning southwest of Penticton at this point, and with those smoky skies and wildfire smoke in the air, it makes for less than optimal air quality.”

“Make sure you limit strenuous outdoor activity,” Lam recommends.

Due to a southwesterly wind, Lam says air quality in Southwestern Alberta could also be an area of concern as the smoke makes its way east.