Much of southern B.C. under smoky skies, alerts, as wildfires continue to burn

Aug 7, 2026 | 2:14 PM

If your plans this weekend include travelling west into B.C.’s southern Interior region, you may wish to postpone your trip for a day or two, after Environment & Climate Change Canada (ECCC) expanded an Orange Alert for air quality for a large section of southern B.C.

The updated warning now includes the Kootenays, Columbia, Okanagan, Shuswap, and Fraser Canyon regions of the province.

In a weather statement, ECCC said haze from recent wildfires will be impacting the region over the next 24 to 48 hours.

“Smoke continues to pool under the high-pressure system parked over BC, with widespread air quality impacts throughout the Southern and Central Interior. Brief and sporadic pockets of clearing may occur in some regions Friday, but widespread clearing is not expected,” the statement read.

You can stay up-to-date on air quality conditions in British Columbia, by clicking here.

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An added uncertainty in all of this is the wildfire situation, which has, or can quickly result in road and highway closures, and while not discouraging travel, the Province of B.C. is reminding visitors to stay on top of the changing situation by going to the DriveBC website.

As of 2 p.m. Friday, Highway 1 (Trans Canada) between Hope and Lytton and Highway 97 (Cariboo Highway) from Loon Lake to Mile 76, were both closed to traffic.

In Alberta, meantime, the southwest corner of the province remained under a Yellow Alert for air quality Friday afternoon at a moderate risk level, with much of the thicker smoke drifting in from the southeast BC.

Westerly winds are expected to push the smoke further into southern sections of our province before the end of the weekend, but levels are not forecast to compare to the Heritage Day long weekend where readings on Sunday, in places like Lethbridge, were at 10+ on the Air Quality Health Index.

For updated Alberta air quality details, you can click here.

by Dave Lueneberg

Much of southern B.C. under smoky skies, alerts, as wildfires continue to burn

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