wildfire smoke

Wildfire smoke brought very high-risk air quality to the South Okanagan Thursday morning as an orange air-quality warning was in effect for the region.

Highway 1 remained closed Wednesday between Boston Bar and Boothroyd, B.C., as out-of-control wildfires prompted evacuation orders and threatened nearby communities.

Rick Medley said he didn’t know much about lung health when he was diagnosed in 2021 with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis — a chronic lung disease that causes scarring of lung tissue and makes it difficult to breathe.