Smoke likely to stay through rest of the week

When it comes to how the smoke travels, it’s when the wind is light that causes the smoke to drift the most. With heavy winds, the smoke will dissipate and clear up, and because of the mix of heavier and lighter winds set to come from the north over the course of the week could make that smoke spread far across the province.

“The low level air flow is what drives how the smoke goes into communities. You can get some hazy conditions with smoke aloft that can block out the sun a little bit but whenever it cools overnight, that smoke can settle closer to the ground as well. The main driver for the smoke spread is low level wind flow, so you get these light northerly winds from the fires up north of La Ronge into the Prince Albert area and down to Saskatoon.”

In terms of the worst area for the smoke, the La Ronge area is expected to see thick smoke throughout the rest of the week because of their proximity to the ongoing fires. Because of this, Berg recommends that you stay inside as much as you can, but there are precautions you can take if your work takes you outside.

“With the air quality advisory that’s out, for people who are most affected by smoke, people with underlying health conditions, people who are pregnant, infants and young children, the elderly, people that work outdoors, people that participate in outdoor exercise, they should avoid outdoor activity as much as they can. That’s a major health issue in terms of the eyes, nose, and throat irritation and there are respiratory issues built in with that.”

According to Environment Canada’s Air Quality Health Index, the smoke risk is set to be at it’s worst on Thursday morning.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Smoke likely to stay through rest of the week

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