Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for Greater Victoria.
The statement issued early Sunday morning identifies the region as one of the regions in the province impacted by wildfire smoke.
“Smoke impacts due to long-range transport from wildfires in the western United States have already been observed in some areas of Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and portions of the Interior,” it reads.
The bulletin urges residents to take precautions to reduce their exposure. “Wildfire smoke is a constantly-changing mixture of particles and gasses which includes many chemicals that can harm your health,” it reads.
Wildfires in Washington State, Oregon and California have killed dozens of people across those states with authorities fearing additional fatalities, while chasing tens of thousands of people out of their homes, leaving them scrambling for food, water and shelter under ominous clouds of smoke that have spread across the northwestern corner of the North American continent.
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Greater Victoria residents woke up to weather and air quality warnings on Tuesday morning as Environment Canada issued alerts about the high temperatures forecasted for the week and smokey skies from wildfires in Washington State. With some variations, the region remains under a dome of smoke, at least through Sunday.
“The anticipated smoke trajectory indicates that the areas impacted will grow to the north and east as the weekend progresses with the most widespread impacts expected on Sunday,” says Environment Canada in its statement.
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