In the Pembina Valley and Red River region, people have been seeing and smelling the smoke from forest fires in Ontario.

Natalie Hassell is the Environment Canada Warning Preparedness Meteorologist. She explained this smoke is a little different from what we experienced earlier this month.

"We still have the some from B.C. in our air, it's just aloft, this smoke that we're dealing with this morning... is from a bunch of forest fires near Bissett and Red Lake Ontario," said Hassell. "There are a few other fires happening in Manitoba as well, but the main source for our smoke today are these fires the Bissett area and towards Red Lake."

She noted the wind is directing the smoke to our region.

"It is dependent on the wind and of course the intensity of the fire... we're not seeing any rain the forecast for several days," Hassell explained.

She said every time we experience wind from the north and northeast the smoke will return, if the fires are still active.

"We won't see a wind shift really until some time tonight, where winds will be out of the south around midnight and out of the southwest mid-morning tomorrow. So, I would expect that smoke will remain in the area at least until tonight until tomorrow morning," she explained.

Hassell recommends for people to stay indoors, and to use an air conditioner with a good filter.

"Ideally we would like people to reduce the amount of time they spend outside. If they do spend time outside reduce their activity and activity levels, so avoid strenuous physical activity in these smoky conditions."

People at higher risk include young children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with heart or lung conditions (particularly asthma), and therefore should avoid as much exposure to smoke as possible.

"The pollution levels are considered elevated at the moment, so even people who are healthy might be experiencing these symptoms," Hassell said.

In these current conditions, even healthy individuals may experience sore eyes, tears, coughing and a runny nose.