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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.