Are smoky conditions keeping Calgarians indoors this weekend?

Poor air quality in Calgary caused by wildfire smoke kept a lot of Calgarians indoors this week and could continue through the long weekend, even as the weather forecast shows hot temperatures.

The air quality had improved by Friday afternoon, better than the conditions we saw earlier in the week, and Calgarians started coming into outdoor supply stores, gearing up for the weekend.

“We have people coming in for all kinds of camping supplies getting ready for the weekend,” said Carson Deis, gear guide at Breathe Outdoors.

“We get pretty busy on long weekends especially when it starts getting warmer, I’d say the smoke might have even increased the amount of people that come because as the smoke has kind of dissipated a lot more people have come out because they’ve been in their houses for two, three days.”

Deis says he thinks UV protection clothing is one of the most popular items in the store right now, so it seems as though Calgarians are hoping to be outdoors this long weekend.

“I would say as the sun comes out, a lot of our aquatic section gets a lot more popular with our paddle boards, our canoes, and life jackets go very fast around this time of year. But yeah totally those things go by really quickly when it gets hotter.”

Many Calgarians might be ready to enjoy the outdoors, but a couple of pro-sports teams in the city are monitoring the air quality ahead of long weekend games. So far, Cavalry FC and Calgary Stampeders games are still a go, but the Stampeders did cancel a pre-game Fanfest.

Albertans advised to postpone long weekend plans

Meanwhile, officials in Alberta are advising Albertans to consider postponing their long weekend plans, as 90 wildfires continue to burn throughout the province.

Christie Tucker of Alberta Wildfire said Friday  the May long weekend is typically when the province sees a spike in human-caused wildfires, adding that last year 97 wildfires started over the weekend under less extreme danger levels.

“This wildfire season is affecting all of us and firefighters appreciate every single action that reduces potential for fires here in Alberta,” said Tucker.

Most of the province remains under a fire ban, as well as a ban of off-roading vehicles such as quads.

— With files from the Canadian Press