The skies in the City of Calgary are still pretty smoky as haze from wildfires burning in B.C. is still hanging around, and the conditions have now impacted a number of outdoor events and facilities.

Hundreds of wildfires in British Columbia are to blame for the excessive amount of smoke, but the situation isn’t as bad as it once was earlier in the week.

The Air Quality Health Index for Calgary is currently at 5, but it could reach as high as 9 on the severity scale on Friday.

It's also been three days since Environment Canada put a special weather statement in place for much of western Canada. That advisory encompasses the whole province of Alberta as well as a good portion of B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

People are still being told to modify their outdoor activities and take extra precautions, especially those with pre-existing respiratory conditions.

The smoke isn’t just having an impact on health; it’s also leading to the closures of a number of outdoor facilities and events.

The City of Calgary decided to shut down all outdoor pools on Thursday and Friday because of the impact of the smoke.

Officials at the pool say that the conditions earlier in the week were so bad that staff had trouble doing their jobs.

“The smoke was quite bad [on Wednesday] and our staff during lessons were having respiratory issues,” said David Lundmark, a lifeguarding instructor in south Calgary.

A number of events have also been cancelled because of the smoke in Calgary, including a food drive for the Calgary Food Bank.

The agency planned to hold a door-to-door pickup of food and had a team of young volunteers to help out, but those plans needed to be cancelled as a precaution.

“Not having this food drive is going to put a dent in donations,” said Shawna Ogston with the Calgary Food Bank. “We usually see 10,000 pounds donated by the Kids’ Food Drive, so it will make a dent.”

While some outdoor summer camps, like the one running at the Remington YMCA, had a building to retreat to, members of the Calgary Stampeders had to suffer in the smoke.

Stampeders coach Dave Dickenson says its days like these where an indoor training area would really help out.

CTV Calgary Weather Specialist Kevin Stanfield says that the only significant change in the smoke levels could come by Saturday.

“We should see a change in our upper air pattern late tomorrow which will act to limit the amount of smoke we get. Our immediate future, however, remains smoky!”

He adds that there is some rain in the forecast too, but it likely won’t be enough to have much of an impact on the smoke.