Map shows Alberta wildfire smoke now blankets most of Canada

As Alberta wildfires continue to burn, smoke from the blazes now blankets most of Canada.

As Alberta wildfires continue to burn, smoke from the blazes now blankets most of Canada.

As more than 80 wildfires continue to burn throughout Alberta on Thursday, 23 of them classified as out of control, and nearly 18,000 people remain forced from their homes, smoke from the blazes has now covered most of the country.

A real-time tracking map created by AirNow, which monitors wildfires and air quality in North America, shows the trajectory of the smoke plume reaching as far north as Great Bear Lake in Northwest Territories as of Thursday morning.

To the west, the plume has crossed B.C.'s Coast Mountains, reaching the Pacific Ocean. Looking east, the plume now covers most of Quebec, the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland. However, there are areas in the southwest (Vancouver and Vancouver Island) and the northwest corners (Whitehorse) of the country where the plume has yet to cover. The map also shows Labrador mainly plume-free.

Comparatively, on Tuesday the same map showed most of Quebec and Eastern Canada unaffected by the wildfire smoke while the plume had yet to cross into B.C. save for the northeastern corner of the province.

Air quality statements remain in effect for much of Alberta with Environment and Climate Change Canada also warning of poor visibility as a result of wildfire smoke.