Update: Okanagan smoke is from Colorado, Siberia

Update (July 9). . . The BC Forest Service has indicated that some of the smoke wafting through British Columbia, including the Okanagan Valley, is from Siberia. The rest of the smoke is coming from wildfires in Colorado.

The fire danger rating in the southern portion of B.C. is relatively low. (BC Forest Service)

by Dave Preston

Just in time for true Okanagan summer weather to take hold, smoke has descended on the valley.

The BC Forest Service received reports of smoke in Lillooet, Merritt and Kamloops Friday night. Residents and tourists in the Okanagan Valley awoke Saturday to the view of smoke obscuring distant mountains.

That smoke is not from any forest fire in British Columbia, according to the BC Forest Service. At this time, there are no active, major wildfires in B.C.

Colorado is the source of the smoke blanketing the Southern Interior, according to the forest service. A number of raging wildfires started in the state in June and the largest destroyed more than 350 homes and killed two people.

The good news is that the weather has improved in the past few days, helping firefighting efforts in Colorado. The Waldo Canyon fire, responsible for much of the devastation in the state, is nearing 100 per cent containment and rain is expected over the weekend.