Where are the BC Wildfires specifically? Been reading about them down here. Should we avoid traveling into the Okanagan region? Or heading E. of Vancouver?
Highway 97 south of Sicamous is open but it is not a pleasant drive due to heavy smoke, visibility is down to less than a mile. Definitely stay away if anyone in your party has respiratory issues.
List of road closures effective today (Tuesday) in the fire zone areas:
Highway 1: closed from Ashcroft to Cache Creek; and both directions east and west out of Cache Creek; and in the westbound lane to Savona.
Highway 5A: closed in both directions at junction with Highway 3 in Princeton and north of Princeton at Allison Lake Provincial Park.
Highway 97: closed from junction of Highway 1 in Cache Creek to Clinton, and at the Canim Hendrix intersection to the Timothy Lake Road junction. Open to northbound traffic from Williams Lake and closed to southbound traffic from 15 kilometres south of Quesnel.
Highway 99: closed from Hat Creek Junction to Highway 97.
Highway 20: closed to westbound traffic at the Chilcotin Bridge, 25 km west of Williams Lake.
Highway 24: closed to westbound traffic heading to 100 Mile House from the junction with Horse Lake Road.
Likely Road: closed from 150 Mile House to junction with Horsefly Road.
List of closed Provincial Parks as of last night:
Beaver Valley Provincial Park Becherโs Prairie Provincial Park Betty Wendle Provincial Park Big Bar Provincial Park Big Basin Provincial Park Big Creek Ecological Reserve Big Creek Provincial Park Bowron Lake Provincial Park Bridge Lake Provincial Park Bull Canyon Provincial Park Canim Beach Provincial Park Cardiff Mountain Ecological Reserve Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park Cariboo Nature Provincial Park Cariboo River Provincial Park Cedar Point Class C Provincial Park Chasm Ecological Reserve Chasm Provincial Park Churn Creek Protected Area Copper Johnny Provincial Park Cottonwood River Provincial Park Crater Lake Provincial Park Danteโs Inferno Provincial Park Doc English Bluff Ecological Reserve Donnely Lake Provincial Park Downing Provincial Park Dragon Mountain Provincial Park Edge Hills Provincial Park Eleven Sisters Provincial Park Finger-Tatuk Provincial Park Flat Lakes Provincial Park Fraser River Breaks Provincial Park French Bar Provincial Park Green Lake Provincial Park Homathko River โ Tatlayoko Protected Area Horsefly Lake Provincial Park Ilgachuz Ecological Reserve Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park Junction Sheep Range Provincial Park Kluskoil Lake Provincial Park Lac La Hache Provincial Park Long Creek Provincial Park Marble Range Provincial Park Moose Valley Provincial Park Mount Tinsdale Ecological Reserve Narcosli Ecological Reserve Nazko Lake Provincial Park Nuntsi Provincial Park Patterson Lake Provincial Park Pinnacles Provincial Park Puntchezacut Lake Provincial Park Punti Island Provincial Park Quesnel Lake Provincial Park Rainbow / Qโiwentem Provincial Park Redbrush Provincial Park Ruth Lake Provincial Park Schoolhouse Provincial Park Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park Titetown Provincial Park Tsโil?os Provincial Park Tweedsmuir Provincial Park South โ Backcountry Wells Gray Provincial Park Westwick Lake Ecological Reserve White Pelican Provincial Park
Others have provided a link to the active fires map of B. C. That will give a good idea of where not to go. Be aware that as of a few days ago, they are beginning to shut down access to wilderness provincial parks. Wells Grey and Bowron Lakes parks for example are now closed. If things don't change soon, they will also shut off all access to any backcountry areas. Even industrial access will be curtailed. This will of course put more pressure on the front-country areas.
There are fires east of the mountains here in Washington but nothing like what's going on in BC and the rest of the west. We have escaped the heat that the SW has experienced.
The Okanagan region is fine for the moment although somewhat smoky, not a good place for those with respiratory issues. The major problems are west of Kamloops, highway 5 (Coquihalla)is open but keep an eye on the road reports, conditions change quickly.
We are in Alberta right now. Here is some info from the news - hope it helps. http://globalnews.ca/news/3585284/b-c-wildfires-map-2017-current-location-of-wildfires-around-the-province/