Smoke from as far away as Greece, Siberia

Smoke from as far away as Siberia, Greece and Ontario is finding its way to the Okanagan.

Add that to the smoke from the three giant forest fires burning in the Valley and a pall of ashsmelling haze and heat has enveloped the region and prompted an air-quality advisory.

“I know it sounds strange, but it’s actually common for smoke from wildfires to travel hundreds, or even thousands, of kilometres,” said BC Wildfire Service information officer Noelle Kekula.

“I guess its only fair we’re getting smoke from Siberia, Greece and Ontario this year. We shared our smoke with them last year.”

This travelling smoke is thanks to a phenomenon called long-range transport.

Smoke from wildfires can initially be pushed high in the atmosphere, where it can move vast distances.

If the mass hits a weather change, it can plunge to earth far from where it originated.

Wind conditions, topography and massive stretches of water, like the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, can also accelerate and pull smoke in unlikely directions and deposit it in unusual places.

For instance, it was a low-pressure weather system that pulled high-level smoke from Ontario forest fires into B.C. after a continental waft across the Prairies.

Regardless of where the smoke comes from, it’s a noxious combination of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases that is unsightly and unhealthy.

The air-quality advisory recommends people with respiratory problems exercise caution, possibly avoiding going outside while the smoke is at its worst.

The same warning goes for the very young and the very old who may be sensitive to smoke.

The three “fires of note” in the Okanagan currently aren’t threatening any homes, so all previous evacuation alerts and orders associated with those fires have been rescinded.

The Mount Eneas fire, four kilometres south of Peachland, is the largest at about 1,800 hectares.

Its status is “being held,” so it’s not growing and not threatening any homes.

But it is kicking up a lot of smoke as ground crews and helicopters dropping water try to douse it.

The Glenfir Road blaze, 10 kilometres northwest of Naramata, is 32 hectares in size and rated as “active,” which means it’s somewhat out of control and could grow.

However, it’s not threatening any homes.

And the Goode’s Creek fire on the north side of Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park is also out of control at 577 hectares in size, but it isn’t near any homes right now.