“It looked like some sort of Stephen King movie.”

That’s how Kamloops resident Rob Woods described the skies in the Interior B.C. city Tuesday night, after strong winds drove a smoky, post-apocalyptic atmosphere into the area.

By Wednesday morning, he was donning a mask to go outside.

The skies above Kamloops began shifting Tuesday afternoon. Smoke started to drift in, something the city is familiar with after many years of wildfires filling the valley with thick smoke and ash.

At about 4 p.m. PT, the city posted on social media letting residents know the smoke was not related to a fire nearby, but was blowing in from the Brunswick fire complex in Boston Bar burning about 120 kilometres away.

Soon, the sky glowed orange.

By 7 p.m., the streetlights came on as the sky darkened, resident John Karpluk said.

“It was black out,” he said.

WATCH | Smoke blankets Kamloops, B.C.:

Smoky skies in parts of B.C. as wildfires near Boston Bar continue to grow

A pair of out-of-control wildfires are threatening properties in and around the community of Boston Bar in B.C.’s Fraser Canyon. As CBC’s Shelley Joyce reports from Kamloops, air quality advisories have been issued for many parts of the southern Interior because of the smoke.

Environment Canada meteorologist Morgen Shull said westerly winds gusting up to 43 km/h brought the smoke into the area Tuesday afternoon. But when those winds died down overnight, she said, the smoke was left trapped.

“Basically [the smoke] stuck around because wind hasn’t been strong enough,” she said.

Between 4 and 5 p.m. Tuesday, the air quality shifted from 3 (low risk) to 10 (high risk), according to Environment Canada’s Air Quality Health Index (AQHI). An hour later, it hit 10+ — very high risk. So high, in fact, the forecasting agency suggested avoiding strenuous activity outside.

And it stayed nearly that bad overnight. As of Wednesday at 8 a.m., the AQHI was 10.

Not only were the skies discoloured, but ash fell from the sky, coating cars in dust.

Shull said more westerly winds are expected Wednesday, but “there doesn’t seem to be any sort of big pattern change that will knock the smoke out.”

She said air quality warnings are set to remain in place locally for the next two days.

The Interior Health Authority (IHA) is reminding people to stay indoors during periods of heavy smoke and to run a HEPA air cleaner if possible. If not, the health authority said a DIY air purifier using a box fan and furnace filter will do.

“Exposure to wildfire smoke can lead to a range of health effects, including throat and nose irritation, worsening of lung and heart conditions, and premature death,” IHA said in a news release.