Wildfire smoke is once again pouring across the United States

Wildfire smoke is once again pouring across the United States

Ben Noll

Wildfire smoke is once again pouring across the United States following a weekend of new blazes across Canada’s British Columbia.

A total of 11 new fires were reported across that province, where a state of emergency was declared on Saturday, with thousands forced to evacuate near Summerland, located about 40 miles north of the British Columbia-Washington state border.

The largest fire in this region, called the Bald Range Fire, had burned through more than 33,000 acres as of Sunday and remained out of control.

Last week, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre raised the national preparedness level to 5 out of 5, meaning that “emergency measures” may be necessary to sustain incident operations.

Last week, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre raised the national preparedness level to 5 out of 5, meaning that “emergency measures” may be necessary to sustain incident operations.

Smoke from fires in British Columbia as well as other fires in the U.S. Pacific Northwest created hazy skies that spanned thousands of miles to New England late Sunday.

Across the East, most of this smoke will remain lofted high in the sky — with minimal effects on air quality — although small amounts may settle toward the ground.

Meanwhile, air quality will remain poor across parts of the Northwest and the Intermountain West as elevated fire weather risks continue early this week.