Yes, it's been smoky in the Flin Flon area the past couple days. No, there isn't a forest fire near Flin Flon. Here's the situation.
Smoke blew into the area Monday and Tuesday, causing a special air statement to be called for Creighton, Denare Beach and other Saskatchewan communities nearby Tuesday morning.
According to information from firesmoke.ca, the smoke is coming from a pair of fires. The smoke from Monday came from the northwest and portions of extreme northern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories. A complex of several fires is burning on the border between the province and territory, throwing large quantities of smoke across parts of Canada depending on wind patterns.
That wind carried the smoke all the way across Saskatchewan and into parts of northern Manitoba Monday, then took the smoke toward central Alberta and the B.C. interior through Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the smoke was coming from a different direction, this time from a group of fires from southern Manitoba. Smoke from three fires - one located south of Virden in southwest Manitoba, a second north of Dauphin and a third in the Interlake region - had combined into one cloud and blew into the Flin Flon area from the south.
According to firesmoke.ca forecasts, the smoke is expected to dissipate altogether late Tuesday afternoon and the skies will stay clear for at least Wednesday.
According to AQICN.org, a group that monitors air quality indexes (AQI) for areas around the world, Flin Flon had a 102 AQI, considered to be "unhealthy for sensitive groups", as of Tuesday afternoon. At its worst on Monday morning, the area had an AQI of 168, considered to be "unhealthy" for all groups.
