Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, however, the smoke visible in the Cranbrook and Kimberley area isn’t from anything local.
Though the Steeples are covered in a light haze, the smoke isn’t coming from anything local as it is blowing in from Lytton, which is just outside the Lower Mainland.
As of Friday at press time, the Lytton fire—which was discovered on Thursday—is 1,500 hectares and is nowhere close to be being contained.
Smoke can travel long distances depending on the prevailing winds. Though there may be dense smoke visible in the Kootenay region, there are no local wildfires large enough to create that amount of smoke.
For more information on the smoke and any concerns about air quality, visit www.bcairquality.ca.
Though fire activity is relatively quiet in the East Kootenay region, there is still a Category 3 ban in effect, but the Southeast Fire Centre encourages people to take precautions with any fire activity.
Locate fires away from buildings, trees and other combustable materials and don’t burn in windy conditions. Have enough people, water and resources to put out a fire in case it gets out of control and don’t leave it unattended.
