Shift in weather could push wildfire smoke from Lower Mainland back into B.C. Interior
The smoke that has blanketed most of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley since Sunday morning could soon be gone.
An air quality advisory remains in place for the region, but Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau said the smoke could be pushed out as early as Tuesday.
“Today, particularly by the water, it’s not too bad,” Charbonneau told CTV News Monday.
“In the Lower Mainland, we are expecting a shift in the weather pattern tomorrow could start to clear this out."
While the haze has diminished air quality in the region, Charbonneau said it’s still far from the conditions in B.C.’s fire zones.
“It’s nowhere near what they’re seeing in the Interior," she said.
With around 240 wildfires currently burning across the province, the smoke is presenting more challenges for suppression crews. The shift in the weather, which will push the smoke back towards the Interior, is expected to make an already difficult situation even worse.
"Unfortunately this grounds our aircraft in many areas,” said Jean Strong of the B.C. Wildfire Service.
“This is harmful for not only suppression activities but also getting in the air."
Some cooler temperatures and rain are in the forecast, however there’s also the potential for some more extreme weather.
“We do have risk of thunderstorms across much of B.C.,” Charbonneau said.
As of Monday evening, more than 25,000 properties are either under an evacuation order or alert.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.