NANAIMO — Expect some smoky skies across the region for the next couple of days. Environment Canada is calling for “local smoke” in the Nanaimo and Oceanside areas, beginning overnight Tuesday, Aug. 6, stemming from major wildfires in B.C.’s north. A pair of blazes west of Prince George and south of Burns Lake are providing the majority of the haze, with smoke first drifting west and then being picked up by coastal winds moving south. “[Those fires are] really producing more the stronger concentration of smoke that’s descending down on the Vancouver Island,” meteorologist Brian Proctor said. “We’re also seeing a little bit of smoke drift in and across…from the mainland.” Both the R11204 and the Michel Creek fires each measure around 11,200 hectares and were discovered in mid-July. …Smoke is forecast to reach the region beginning just after dinner on Tuesday and persist at least until Wednesday.