Light smoke, haze from Alberta fires will sit over the Inland Northwest on Friday

CBC News via CNN

HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Smoke from large wildfires in Canada’s Alberta province has drifted into five U.S. states and is causing haze and air quality issues.

More than two dozen fires are burning in Alberta and 10,000 people have been forced from their homes.

The smoke has drifted into Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington state and Wyoming.

The government agency Alberta Wildfire reports the largest blaze is out of control about 450 miles (733 kilometers) north of Edmonton and has burned 887 square miles (2,300 square kilometers) of land.

The National Weather Service said light smoke and haze will sit over the Inland Northwest Friday, but conditions will gradually improve throughout the weekend.

Current visible satellite shows light smoke and haze over the inland NW caused by fires up in Canada. Expect conditions to gradually improve this weekend as winds push smoke out of our area. #wawx pic.twitter.com/x7thIOWR21

— NWS Spokane (@NWSSpokane) May 31, 2019