It’s back.
For the first time since the start of the 2025 wildfire season, smoke has settled in over Prince George and for the next few days you can expect that haze to obscure visibility and present a breathing hazard to people who venture outdoors.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special air quality statement Wednesday morning to warn people of the health risks.
A shift in wind direction is responsible for the smoke now visible in Prince George and the north central Interior region.
“We were getting west to northwest winds but now they’re coming in from the east to southeast so all those fires from the north and Alberta are going to be slowly pushing the smoke towards us,” said Pedro Roldan-Delgado, a fire information officer for the BC Wildfire Service Prince George Fire Centre.
“It’s hard to say which fire is directly impacting Prince George because there’s multiple fires in the northeast section of our province and Alberta. Tonight the forecasted winds will be coming from the northeast, so now all the northern fires will be pushing down south.”
With the exception of southern and western BC, the western Yukon and the eastern Arctic region, much of Canada is dealing with smoky skies. The smoke also covers most of the eastern US as far south as Texas and the Carolinas.
The website firesmoke.ca tracks and predicts where the smoke will spread and where it will be the most hazardous for the next two days. The good news for Prince George is we are in the least hazardous range of PM2.5, a measure of particulate matter. The level over the city is not expected to rise above 10.
Rain showers are in the forecast for Prince George Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with a 40 per cent chance each day. The smoke is predicted to shift away from the city by early Thursday morning.
The air quality statement covers Prince George, Fort Nelson, Muncho Lake Park, Watson Lake, Williston, Stuart Nechako, Peace River (Alta), McGregor, Elk Valley, Grayling River Hotsprings Ecological Reserve, Stikine River, Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park and Howe Sound (from a fire near Squamish).
The closest large fire to the city of Prince George is the Kiskatinaw fire south of Dawson Creek. There are roughly 42 out-of-control fires in the northeast, including the overwintering fires from last fall.
The size of those fires and the dry conditions, as well as the remoteness of the region, allows fires to continue to burn underground over winter. Most of northeastern BC has been under Level 4 drought conditions and some areas are considered Level 5, the worst on the scale.
Since the start of fire season April 1, there have been 158 wildfires reported to the Prince George Fire Centre which have collectively burned 552,221 ha. Over the same time period in 2024 there were 90 fires that burned 320,521 ha.
The fire hazard in Prince George is considered high and on Sunday BC Wildfire issued a ban on Category 2 and 3 fires that covers much of the Prince George Fire Centre’s vast territory — basically the entire northeast quadrant of BC, an area of 336,000 square kilometres (33.6 million hectares).
If you spot a wildfire call 1-800-663-5555 or on your mobile call *5555.
BC Wildfire depends on the public to report fires early, as well as heat detection satellite imagery, to be able to react quickly with firefighters and equipment to put those fires out before they get out of control.
“Most of the detections are from the public calling in,” said Roldan-Delgado. “That’s why we ask the public to be vigilant. If you see a fire, please give us a call. Even if you think we might know of it, it could be a fire we are not aware of.”
Travelers should to check the Drive BC website before leaving to find out if there are any highway or road closures.
Anybody working or recreating in the woods should check with BC Wildfire website to check if there any local bans or restrictions on fires.
