A heavy blanket of wildfire smoke blew into Prince Albert Tuesday morning. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW Staff)

By Teena Monteleone

Air Quality advisory

Wildfire smoke causing poor air quality across province

Sep 3, 2024 | 12:20 PM

Smoke from wildfires in northern Saskatchewan is moving into central areas of the province today in the wake of a cold front moving through the area.

The hazy sky prompted Environment Canada to issue an Air Quality Advisory Tuesday morning for an area that stretches from north of La Ronge all the way down to just south of Fort Qu’Appelle. The area includes Prince Albert, Melfort, and Meadow Lake.

A blanket of smoke blew in to Prince Albert shortly after 9 a.m. and by 11 a.m. the Air Quality Health Index for the area was sitting at +10 or ‘Very High Risk.’ It is expected to drop to ‘Moderate Risk’ by Wednesday night. Air quality values for Buffalo Narrows and Saskatoon were also sitting at +10.

Environment Canada said wildfire smoke is causing reduced visibility in some areas of the province. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW Staff)

In the advisory, Environment Canada said, “During heavy smoke conditions, everyone is at risk regardless of their age or health. The fine particles in wildfire smoke pose the main health risk. People more likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke such as seniors, pregnant women and pregnant people, people who smoke, infants and young children, people who work outdoors, people involved in strenuous outdoor exercise and people with an existing illness or chronic health condition, should avoid strenuous activities outdoors.”

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Symptoms can include milder and more common symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, as well as serious but less common symptoms such as chest pains or severe cough.

In addition to the very poor air quality, reduced visibility is also an issue in some areas. It can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour.

There are currently 71 fires burning in Saskatchewan; 11 of them are not contained.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com