Smoky skies across much of B.C. as wildfires grow

Approximately 2,000 people in the Village of Ashcroft have been told to be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice, after an evacuation alert was put into place at noon Friday for the entire community, about 100 kilometres west of Kamloops.

The warning comes with officials forecasting smoky skies across much of B.C. as over 300 fires burn across the province, with more expected in the days ahead.

Cliff Chapman with the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) said Thursday the province appeared to be "on the precipice of a very challenging 72 hours" with hot and dry weather, dry lightning and strong winds forecast.

Ashcroft Mayor Barbara Roden said residents of her community were "twitchy," as smoke blanketed the sky, recalling previous years when fires threatened the community.

"We're getting ash falling on our cars, on our decks, on our houses, which is very disconcerting for people," she said.

Officials are reminding people headed out for the weekend to check local conditions and to remember there is a provincial campfire ban in place for all parts of B.C. except Haida Gwaii.

On Friday, the province issued a smoky sky bulletin for parts of the Interior and north, warning that several communities were likely to be affected by wildfire smoke in the next 48 hours.

The communities covered by the bulletin include Fort St. John, where air quality was measured at 10+ on Friday afternoon.

Other regions experiencing or expecting smoky skies include Kamloops and the South Thompson, parts of the Kootenays including Creston, Cranbrook and Kimberly, Fort Nelson, the South Peace including Dawson Creek, the Arrow Lakes region and the 100 Mile House area.

Environment Canada on Friday also issued a series of severe thunderstorm watches across much of the B.C. Interior, and a severe thunderstorm warning for the Stuart-Nechako region in the north.

Heat warnings remain in place for much of the province's Interior and north, with temperatures above 30 C, reaching up to 40 C in some areas. 

Ken Dosanjh, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says high temperatures are expected to continue until early next week. 

He says thunderstorms and dry lightning that have occurred in the southern half of the province over the past few days are expected to continue throughout Friday. 

"Once you do get lightning strikes that occur, there's kind of a longer time scale where new fires will pop up," he said.