VANCOUVER — British Columbia's forests minister has warned that the dense shroud of wildfire smoke that has descended over parts of the province, including Metro Vancouver, is set to worsen.

Ravi Parmar told a briefing on Wednesday that the smoke would be a "major factor" in the next 24 to 72 hours, with more arriving in the central and southern Interior in the evening or on Thursday, and reaching the Fraser Valley by Friday.

"We should expect wildfire smoke to come south in the days ahead," Parmar said.

Metro Vancouver residents woke to a pall of smoke over the area on Wednesday, worsening as the day progressed, after a summer of relatively clear skies.

Sarah Henderson, scientific director of Environmental Health Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control, told the briefing there w

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