Shop by
The skies over Calgary can turn the colour of weak tea while the nearest flames are still hundreds of kilometres north. Smoke covers that distance in a day or two, so this page keeps an eye on both halves of the problem at once: where fires are burning across Alberta right now, and where the smoke is drifting next.
Pull up the live map for your part of the province, then check your local Air Quality Health Index (AQHI). The two together tell you what you're breathing before you step outside. You can't move a fire or turn the wind, but the air inside your home is yours to look after, and that part takes very little. Alberta furnaces run hard for months on end, and smoke seasons keep starting sooner and stretching longer, so a bit of early setup goes a long way.
For a current, live look at forest wildfire and smoke conditions in Alberta today, two official sources do the work, and both update continuously. The Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard is the live fire map for the province, showing active fires inside the Forest Protection Area. FireSmoke Canada (BlueSky Canada) is the smoke map, plotting where the smoke is headed over the next 24 to 72 hours.
• Fires right now: the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard and app, with CWFIS for the national picture.
• Smoke forecast: FireSmoke Canada and Environment Canada's FireWork map fine smoke particles (PM2.5) by the hour.
• What you're breathing: check your local Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), the 1 to 10+ scale from Environment Canada. Smoke reaches you even when no fire is close, so watch the AQHI, not just the flames.
• Indoors: during a smoke event, keep the windows closed and run your furnace fan with a MERV 13 (Optimal) filter.
• The one line worth keeping: the map shows what's in the air outside your Alberta home, and your filter decides what you breathe inside.
• Smoke reaches far past the fire, so a clear view of the forest doesn't mean clear air. Watch the AQHI, not just the map.
• The fire and the wind are out of your hands. The air in your living room isn't, and that's where a filter earns its keep.
• For smoke season, reach for MERV 13 (Optimal). It captures the fine smoke particles, and an Odour Eliminator filter takes care of the smell that hangs around.
• Heavy smoke clogs a filter faster than usual, so check yours monthly through the smoky stretches and change it once it looks grey. The households that cope best had a fresh filter in before the smoke arrived, not during.
The fire layer marks satellite-detected hotspots and confirmed fire perimeters. Tap any fire to see its size and status. Alberta sorts active fires into out of control, being held, and under control, so a big fire on the map isn't always a growing one. The smoke layer shows where the smoke is likely to drift over the coming days. Give it a moment and the split makes sense: the fire tells you the source, and the smoke tells you the spread.
One point trips people up. AQHI and AQI are different scales. Canada uses the Air Quality Health Index, which runs from 1 to 10+, set by Environment Canada. AQI is the American version, scored from 0 to 500. For Alberta, follow the AQHI.
Wildfire smoke carries fine particles called PM2.5, small enough to slip indoors through gaps, doorways, and your HVAC intake. That's why a shut-up house can still smell smoky or feel hazy on a bad day. A good furnace filter is one of the simplest defences you have. The furnace fan pushes air through the system, the right filter catches those fine particles, and the air you breathe at home stays cleaner.
1. Keep windows and doors shut during a smoke event, and set your HVAC to recirculate.
2. Run the furnace fan so air keeps moving through the filter, even when you don't need the heat.
3. Fit a MERV 13 (Optimal) filter to catch fine smoke particles. Filter sizes stay in inches, like 20x25x1, the standard across North America.
4. Add an Odour Eliminator filter if the smell lingers, and change filters more often while the air stays poor.
Alberta sits in some of Canada's most fire-prone country, with a long furnace season on either side of summer. Two things follow from that. Smoke seasons here can be heavy, and your furnace is already moving plenty of air through the house for much of the year. Put the right filter in front of that airflow and it does quiet, steady work, on the smoky days and the clear ones alike.
After a lot of smoke seasons with Alberta households, we've learned the homes that breathe easy all do one thing: they slot in a fresh MERV 13 before the smoke shows up, rather than scrambling once the air has already turned.
Official sources for tracking fires, smoke, and air quality across Alberta. Bookmark the ones that matter for your region.
• Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard: The province's interactive map of active fires, hotspots, fire danger, and bans and restrictions, plus the Alberta Wildfire app for status on the go.
• FireSmoke Canada (BlueSky Canada): Smoke forecasts showing where PM2.5 is likely to drift over the next two to three days.
• Environment Canada FireWork: Hourly wildfire-smoke and PM2.5 forecast maps for the next 72 hours, from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
• Government of Canada Air Quality Health Index (AQHI): Current AQHI readings, forecasts, and wildfire-smoke health guidance for communities across the country.
• Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS): Natural Resources Canada's national map of active fires, hotspots, and fire danger, handy for the cross-border view.
• Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC): The daily national situation report on active fires and how stretched firefighting resources are.
• The Canadian Lung Association — wildfire smoke and your lungs: Practical, health-focused advice for breathing easier during smoke, especially if you live with asthma or COPD.
A few figures that put Alberta's smoke seasons, and the case for clean indoor air, in context.
Alberta's 2023 wildfire season burned a record 2.2 million hectares, roughly ten times the province's five-year average and well past the previous record of about 1.3 million hectares set in 1981.
Source: Global News — Alberta's 2023 wildfire season
That same season pushed more than 38,000 Albertans out of their homes, with 48 communities affected, according to the Government of Alberta. The impact of fire and smoke clearly reaches well beyond the forest edge.
Source: Lethbridge News Now — 2023 Alberta wildfire season
In 2024, the Jasper wildfire destroyed about a third of the town's structures and became one of the most expensive natural disasters in Canadian history, with insured damages estimated near $1.23 billion. Alberta smoke seasons have become both routine and costly.
Source: Canadian Climate Institute — climate change and wildfires
Wildfire smoke used to be a rare visitor to Alberta summers. Now it shows up most years, and these maps are here to keep you informed without the drama. Our view is simple: getting ready beats reacting. You can't change the weather or move a fire, but you can make the air inside your home noticeably better, and the effort is small.
Shut the windows when the smoke rolls in, let the furnace fan do its quiet work, and start the season with a capable filter already in place. It's a small, sensible habit that earns its keep on the bad days, and one you'll be glad you sorted out ahead of time.
1. Check the live maps and look up your local AQHI before you plan your day.
2. Get familiar with the fire and smoke layers so they read clearly at a glance.
3. Find your filter size, printed on the side of your current filter in inches, like 20x25x1, then move to a MERV 13 (Optimal) filter for smoke season.
4. Add an Odour Eliminator filter if smoke smell tends to settle into your home.
5. Set up Subscribe & Save so a fresh filter arrives on your schedule. Edit, skip, or cancel anytime.
Use the live map at the top of this page. It draws on the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard and CWFIS. Zoom to your city or forest area for local detail, and check the Alberta Wildfire app for updates on the go.
Use the smoke layer above. It draws on Environment Canada's FireWork and FireSmoke Canada forecasts and shows where wildfire smoke (PM2.5) is expected over the next 24 to 72 hours.
Canada uses the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), a 1 to 10+ scale from Environment Canada. AQI is the American version, scored from 0 to 500. For Alberta conditions, follow the AQHI.
Yes. Fine smoke particles (PM2.5) come in through gaps, doorways, and your HVAC intake. Closing the windows and running your furnace fan with a good filter keeps indoor air cleaner.
A MERV 13 (Optimal) filter catches fine smoke particles and is our pick for smoke season. An Odour Eliminator filter also helps with the smell that lingers, which is handy through Alberta's long, closed-window stretches.
More often than usual. Heavy smoke clogs a filter faster, so check it monthly through smoky stretches and replace it once it looks grey or clogged.
Alberta's wildfire season officially runs March 1 to October 31, though smoke can arrive earlier or linger later. Fire activity tends to peak from late spring through summer.
The maps and AQHI readings refresh continuously from official sources. Check the "Last updated" time near the map. For evacuation orders and emergencies, always follow Alberta Emergency Alert and provincial authorities.
Set your home up with a MERV 13 (Optimal) filter that catches fine smoke particles, or add an Odour Eliminator for the smell that lingers. Over 600 sizes, prices in CAD, and free shipping to Canada, with Subscribe & Save so you're ready before the smoke arrives.
Subscribe to wildfire smoke alerts for Alberta, CA to get a heads-up before the next event reaches your area.
