Where’s the smoke? Calgary sees mostly haze-free summer

Calgary’s air quality levels hit a moderate risk Thursday as wildfire smoke brought hazy skies to the city for the first time this summer.

This is a nice break from previous years when the city was under a blanket of smoke for days at a time.

“It’s going to be a shorter season for sure because it’s starting so late,” said Michael Kuss, CityNews meteorologist

“There’s some relatively significant – at least by this year’s standards – forest fires burning in the Kootenays and then another one in the Okanogan and that smoke got swept up from Southern and Southeastern BC, got pushed across the Rockies, and into the Calgary area.”

Environment Canada says that smoke levels in 2021 were extreme—some of the worst air quality levels they’d seen in quite a while.

And that 2022 has been better but we’re not out of the woods just yet.

“It’s taken most of the summer, normally now we’re into the tinder-dry conditions across the west, and the forest fire season is well underway. It’s just, fortunately, ramping up.”

Read More:

• Wildfire near Lytton holding steady: BC Wildfire Service

• Cooler weather could offer respite to crews battling Keremeos wildfire

• Evacuation orders issued for wildfire burning southwest of Penticton

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After five years of smokey summers, Calgarians have gotten used to and almost expect smoke seeping down into the city, reducing visibility and impacting outside activities. Kuss says moisture has drastically reduced the number of fires in southeastern BC this year.

“The last handful of years are not necessarily the norm but we will see those smokier conditions, more forest fires, more frequently. This might be a sort-of modern-day anomaly where we don’t get a lot of smoke.”

Kuss says smoke from the BC wildfires could make its way back into Calgary in the coming days with the worst expected early next week.

2021 map showing the spread of wildfire in Western Canada. (Photo Credit: Natural Resources Canada)

2022 map showing the spread of wildfire in Western Canada. (Photo Credit: Natural Resources Canada)