Wildfire smoke from the Interior should start to arrive in some Vancouver Island communities by Saturday afternoon as outflow winds push it westward.
“I think it’s really going to be noticeable on Sunday,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt Loney. “There will likely be a decrease in air quality, somewhat.”
He said it is hard to say if conditions will result in a smoky-skies advisory for certain areas.
Lightning was also a possibility on the Island, but it now seems to be staying away, Loney said.
The newest wildfire in the Vancouver Island region is a blaze discovered on Quadra Island about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. It is rated as being held, and dropped in size to 1.5 hectares from an initial four hectares by Friday afternoon.
The fire is east of Village Bay Lake and has affected power lines, but is not threatening any buildings.
Coastal Fire Centre information officer Sam Bellion said crews worked into the night Thursday, and a helicopter and as many as a dozen firefighters were at the scene Friday morning.
The Strathcona Regional District said there are no evacuation orders, but an emergency-operations centre has been set up to support the fire response.
Elsewhere on the Island, five small lightning fires in a remote mountainous area in Strathcona Provincial Park continue to be monitored. B.C. Parks has said the fires are going to be allowed to burn because they are not causing safety concerns or approaching any infrastructure.
The Island has had 100 wildfires since the beginning of the fire season on April 1, up from the five-year average of 71.
There is little precipitation in immediate forecasts around the Island. Zeballos could have showers Monday and Tuesday, and Port Hardy could see them Wednesday.
Weekend temperatures are expected to reach the mid- to high 20s in Victoria, Duncan and Nanaimo, and to peak at 31 C in Port Alberni on Sunday.
