VANCOUVER — Smoke from British Columbia wildfires has drifted into Alberta and prompted new air quality advisories in both provinces.
While much of B.C. has been under air quality warnings for days, Environment Canada now says all of western and central Alberta, including Calgary and Edmonton, will experience poor air quality because of smoke from hundreds of B.C. fires.
The national weather agency is warning that individuals may experience coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath, and children, seniors and those with cardiovascular or lung diseases are especially at risk.
About 600 wildfires are burning across B.C., displacing about 3,000 people and forcing nearly 18,000 more to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.
Metro Vancouver regional district also extended an advisory for the region and the Fraser Valley today because of high concentrations of fine particulate matter due to smoke.
The BC Wildfire Service says black ash is falling in the Vanderhoof area in central B.C. due to a 315 square-kilometre blaze roughly 90 kilometres west of the municipality and from increased winds blowing from the west.
