Hazy skies loom over Greater Victoria as wildfire smoke drifts in
Published 8:59 am Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Greater Victoria folks woke up to hazy skies Tuesday morning (Aug. 4) as wildfire smoke drifted through the region.
Smoke from the interior of B.C. and Washington is forecast to linger over the region until the early hours of Thursday morning (Aug. 6), which is as far as the predictor firesmoke.ca projects.
The smoke is expected to make its way up the Island as far as Courtenay.
The firesmoke.ca program shows interactive forecasts of hourly and daily averages and daily maximum concentrations of PM2.5 particles – fine inhalable particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less – at ground level from wildfires.
According to the forecast, Greater Victoria will experience low to medium concentrations of fine particulate matter. There are currently no air quality warnings from Environment Canada for Vancouver Island.
In addition to smoky skies, Greater Victoria residents are set to experience warmer temperatures this week.
According to Environment Canada, Tuesday will hit a high of 27 C, while Wednesday will peak at 28 C.
As of Tuesday morning, there are 120 active wildfires across B.C.