A number of airports in BC’s Interior and West Kootenay regions cancelled or delayed flights on Sunday following worsening smoke conditions due to wildfires in the area.
CBC News reported that Kelowna International Airport, Penticton Regional Airport and the West Kootenay Airport in Castlegar all announced cancelled flights by noon PT.
Kelowna International Airport manager Sean Parker confirmed that there is less than a kilometre of visibility thanks to the smoke, which means that smaller planes cannot land safely.
“To be honest with you, I’ve personally never seen it this bad,” Parker added. “You look out the window here in Kelowna … It’s like we’re in a fog.”
Air Canada released a statement yesterday warning that the smoke could continue to affect their flights to and out of the Interior.
Much of BC remains under a special weather statement due to the smoke, Environment Canada has said, with only the far north and portions of the western coast relatively unaffected.
Allan Coldwells, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, cautioned that the smoke “is going to be an issue for the next five days,” made worse with even more smoke coming from wildfires in neighbouring Washington State.
At present, the Shovel Lake fire – BC’s largest wildfire – has burned 85,000 hectares west of Prince George, CBC News reported. The province is in its fifth day of a state of emergency; more than 560 wildfires are raging across BC.
