B.C. wildfire smoke expected to blanket Vancouver Island

Wildfire smoke covered Vancouver Island in August 2021. (CTV News)

Smoke from wildfires burning in the B.C. Interior and Alberta is expected to blanket Vancouver Island starting Wednesday afternoon.

Forecasters with the BlueSky Canada and the B.C. Wildfire Service are predicting the smoke will begin to cover the island around noon and remain over the region through to Thursday evening.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting an Air Quality Health Index score of 3, or low risk, for Vancouver Island over the next two days.

The island region has avoided the worst of the wildfire haze so far this season as prevailing winds have carried the smoke east across B.C. and the Prairie provinces.

The B.C. Wildfire Service is warning residents that wildfire smoke can irritate the respiratory system, especially for those with chronic respiratory conditions.

People in smoky areas should remain indoors when possible and avoid physical exertion as the amount of pollutants ingested increases as one's breathing rate increases.

More than 19,500 people in Alberta had been forced out of their homes by Tuesday night as 91 wildfires burned in the province, including 27 fires that were considered out of control.

The northeastern B.C. city of Fort St. John, with a population of about 21,000, remains under an evacuation alert in response to a wildfire that's more than 130 square kilometres in size.