UPDATES

Smoke and flames continue to engulf much of Canada with poor air quality in parts of Ontario and Quebec and the same blanketing much of the west. A look at developments:

Air quality

Smoke that hung over Toronto for several days has cleared, resulting in a notable improvement in air quality, but the haze is persisting in western Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and parts of British Columbia. Parts of northern Ontario are experiencing the effects of wildfire smoke, with Environment Canada warning of high levels of air pollution in communities including North Bay, Sudbury and Timmins. Moderately bad air quality is forecast for Edmonton and Calgary, and air quality alerts are in place for the western half of Saskatchewan. In B.C., air quality is expec- ted to improve almost everywhere except for Fort St. John.

Firefighters

The arrival of firefighters from France and New Brunswick is expected to bolster efforts to contain and control the large number of fires burning across Quebec in what's expected to be a marathon wild- fire season. Officials expect about 1,200 people will be fighting fires in the province by Monday.

Weather

Expected showers on Saturday could sprinkle an aggressive wildfire that has forced more than 2,000 people from their homes in northeastern B.C. But forecasters say thunderstorms could sweep the region before any rain arrives.

Evacuations

Edson in north- western Alberta is being evacuated as fire is moving closer to populated areas. About 8,400 live there. Evacuation orders have been lifted in Nova Scotia's Shelburne County, where the largest wildfire in the province's history continues to burn out of control, but hasn't grown.