Brace Yourself For More Smoke
All that smoke lingering around the Parkland area could be here for a couple more days.
A special air quality statement is back in effect for the region, as northwesterly winds are expected to push even more smoke from Saskatchewan forest fires into Manitoba today.
Areas closest to the Saskatchewan border will be affected the most, and are warned of reduced visibility and poor air quality values.
Smokey conditions are expected to continue into tomorrow, before winds on Saturday begin to blow southerly.
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Smoke Helping Control Saskatchewan Forest Fires
In an ironic twist, officials say smoke from more than 100 wildfires across Saskatchewan is so thick, it's helping to control the blazes.
They say smoke blanketing northern Saskatchewan is blocking out sunlight, resulting in lower temperatures and higher humidity, meaning fires are less volatile.
On the downside, the thick smoke led to the grounding of air tankers.
The fires have forced at least four-thousand people from their homes.
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Weather Slows Down Parkland Farmers
Crop damage is minimal in the Parkland area following last weekends thunderstorms.
According to this weeks provincial crop report, rainfall amounts varied across the region; areas around Dauphin have mostly adequate water while fields closer to the Saskatchewan border would benefit from additional precipitation.
Crop advancement continues with mixed conditions being reported; cereal crops are good to fair while canola ranges from fair to poor.
Flea beetle activity is still being reported in the Swan Valley, and grasshoppers are developing in soils that are warm and dry.
First cut forage began last week, but little was accomplished due to the weather.
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Threats Force Forth WestJet Flight To Land
Another WestJet flight was diverted due to a threat last night.
The airline says a bomb threat it believes was a hoax caused a Vancouver-to-Toronto flight to divert to Calgary where it landed safely with 30 passengers and five crewmembers on board.
WestJet says it ``diverted the flight out of an abundance of caution.''
This was the fourth time a WestJet flight has been the subject of a threat in the last five days and the fifth such incident involving a Canadian airliner in a week.
In all previous cases, searches of the aircraft unearthed nothing suspicious.
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World Markets Begin To Stabilize
It appears a bit of calm has returned to the financial markets after sharp drops earlier this week caused by Greece's massive financial woes.
There were small gains today on the Tokyo and Hong Kong markets, the European markets opened steady this morning, and the euro is up slightly against the U-S dollar.
On Sunday, Greeks go to the polls to accept or reject proposals made by creditors last week.
Greece's finance minister is so opposed to the belt-tightening proposals, he says he will resign if the vote is to accept.
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Albertan Urges Caution With Algae-Infested Dugouts
An Alberta Agriculture and Forestry water specialist says if you suspect there's blue-green algae in your dugout, err on the side of caution.
Shawn Elgert says the dugout can be treated using a copper product registered for use on blue-green algae, but he says there are also ways to help prevent it.
Elgert says a deeper dugout with slopes that are not too flat help make the dugout water cooler, and he says there are also ways to reduce the nutrients that feed cyanobacteria.
He says there's even a dye that helps prevent photosynthesis.
