Health risk from smoky skies off the charts in parts of B.C.

Smoke from more than 130 wildfires burning across the province is making the air hard to breathe in several B.C. communities — including some on the coast — and it’s likely to get worse before it gets better. Kamloops in the B.C. Interior had the worst air in the province, and reached 18 out of 10 on the Air Quality Health Index at about 1:00 p.m. PT, a level considered “very high risk.”The air quality there changed dramatically over the course of the day, rising from low risk levels Wednesday morning. The Lower Mainland, though farther from the fires, has not been spared, as winds from the Interior push wildfire smoke through the valleys to the coast creating high risk conditions. Here’s how the air quality in some regions ranks on the index at 3:00 p.m. PT, for which 7 to 10 represent “high risk” conditions. Eastern Fraser Valley — 8 Central Fraser Valley — 10 Metro Vancouver NE — 7 Metro Vancouver NW — 7 Squamish — 9 Whistler — 10 An air quality advisory has been in place for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley since Tuesday, but the smoke had stayed at higher elevations until Tuesday night, said Metro Vancouver air quality planner Geoff Doerksen. “Overnight, we’ve had widespread smoke get mixed down and fine particulate matter levels have become elevated in many parts of the region,” said Doerksen, who monitors air from West Vancouver to Hope. Current air quality health ratings “Air quality forecast models are predicting this trend to continue and air quality is likely to worsen throughout today.” Williams Lake in the Interior — where air quality last month hit an off-the-charts 36 out of 10 — was also high risk (7) as of mid-day Wednesday, though conditions were forecast to improve in that region later in the day.