According to Stan Krenz, with the National Weather Service in Missoula, winds from the north are carrying smoke from Canada and Alaska, where large fires are burning out of control.
The haze, thin and high over the Flathead and not noticeable at ground level, has been increasing in recent days as lightning storms have increased fire activity, particularly in British Columbia.
At this time a year ago, only 27,900 acres had burned in the province, and the fire season was just heating up.
Of the 156 fires sparked in British Columbia between April 1 and mid-July last year, only 42 were lightning starts; the bulk - 114 fires - were started by people.
This year, however, the numbers have reversed. Of the 373 fires now burning in the province, 333 were triggered by lightning.
The early fire season also has turned up the heat on provincial budgets. Since April 1, 1,467 fires have been reported in British Columbia, bringing the year's firefighting cost to $73.4 million. That compares with just $27 million spent at this time last year.
With two months left in the fire season, many British Columbia communities already have been evacuated, and one of the province's oldest historic sites - the Ralph Edwards homestead in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park - has been lost to wildfire.
North of Canada, about 3.75 million acres have burned in Alaska, including nearly half a million acres currently burning near Fairbanks.
Krenz said smoke from those wildfires is being carried high aloft by winds from the north, and smoke from smaller fires in Washington is blowing in on westerlies. The current forecast is for continued north-northwest winds, although the smoke brought by those winds should remain high and should not affect ground-level air quality.
Currently, fire danger is listed as "high" throughout much of the Flathead Valley, and in the higher reaches of the Flathead National Forest the danger is categorized as "moderate," tending toward "high." Similar listings are in effect for most of the region's forests.
Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at mjamison@missoulian.com
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