Thick wildfire smoke flowing through Sask. prompts air quality statements for most of province

Most of Saskatchewan is under Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) air quality statements Thursday due to thick wildfire smoke flowing through the province.

Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, Swift Current and the entire north region of Saskatchewan are all included in the statements  A small corner of southeastern Saskatchewan was in the clear Thursday morning, but ECCC meteorologist Stephen Berg said he expects the entire province to be under statements by the afternoon.

Berg said he expects the smoke coming from fires in northern Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories to linger.

"It looks like for the most part all the way until the weekend until Saturday and if not beyond that,'' Berg said on Thursday morning. "There doesn't seem to be a sign of it letting up anytime soon.''

The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Swift Current were set at "very high risk" as of 8:30 a.m. CST Thursday.

Berg said people should be limiting their time outdoors in the smoky conditions.

"Make sure that you stay indoors as much as you can in places where you have clean airflow, with a good air filtration system,'' Berg said.

Berg added that people with underlying health conditions, children, the elderly and pregnant women are most vulnerable to the poor air quality, but everyone needs to take precautions such as wearing a mask if they plan to venture outside.

"Everybody would feel some substantial health effects from wildfire smoke that's this thick,'' Berg said.

Berg said the smoke is lowering visibility in areas of the province that could make driving difficult.