Merritt Wildfire Smoke Map
Track modelled wildfire smoke around Merritt, the Nicola Valley, and nearby Interior highway corridors with FireRadar's hourly FireWork forecast.
How to read smoke around Merritt
Merritt lies in the dry Nicola Valley amid grassland, forested uplands, ranch country, and major routes toward the Thompson, Okanagan, and Lower Mainland. Smoke may come from local Nicola incidents or travel from any of those surrounding regions. Valley flow, plateau winds, inversions, and frontal changes can move smoke rapidly or allow it to settle, so FireWork should be treated as regional forecast guidance rather than a ground measurement.
Forecast, not a measurement
FireWork estimates near-surface PM2.5 attributable to wildfire smoke. It can differ from actual conditions around Merritt because emissions, wind, terrain, mixing, precipitation, and model timing change. Use current AQHI observations and local health advisories when conditions matter to health.
A focused starting view, not a clipped dataset
This page starts the national FireRadar layer around Merritt. The underlying FireWork smoke field is not clipped to municipal boundaries, so nearby conditions remain visible as you pan or zoom. FireRadar does not infer a uniform value inside a city boundary.
Health and safety limitation
FireRadar is an informational environmental map. Follow Environment and Climate Change Canada, provincial health agencies, local public-health guidance, and emergency authorities for health or safety decisions. This page does not diagnose exposure, determine whether outdoor activity is safe, or predict individual health effects.
Related Merritt wildfire context
Smoke and air quality can change even when no confirmed wildfire is close to Merritt. Use the local wildfire page for current official incidents, the fire-danger page for broad fire-weather context, and the province view when you need a wider regional picture.