After a smoky week here in Kelowna, it looks like we'll also have a smoky weekend.
"We might see just a tad of improvement (in air quality) on Saturday," says Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald. "But unfortunately, as we get into Sunday, winds are going to shift back to the northwest, and we just have so many fires burning northwest of the Okanagan that I'm expecting the smoke to only get thicker."
The air quality index in Kelowna is currently sitting at 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, meaning a high risk to health.
MacDonald says it would take something major to clear up the skies over the Okanagan.
"Until we see a big change in the large scale weather pattern, I think we're stuck with the smoke for the forseeable future," says MacDonald. "There are just so many fires burning in all directions that it doesn't really matter which ways the winds come from; as long as we have this very stable weather pattern, all of that smoke is going to stay confined to the lower atmosphere."
Earlier this week, the number of wildfires burning across BC was estimated to be 566.