Save your lungs and stay inside
Interior Health says paper face masks don’t protect against smoky air, recommends staying indoors
Wearing a face mask won’t protect you from Kelowna air so smoky this week that it’s been deemed unhealthy, Interior Health says.
Although the air quality on Wednesday was rated a nine, representing a high risk, IH says commonly available face masks are of no use in smoky conditions.
“Surgical and paper masks found at the drug or hardware store do not provide protection from the particles in smoke,” reads part of an emergency response advisory from Interior Health.
Other, more sophisticated types of masks, known as particulate respirators, do stop some of the tiny particles from getting into a person’s lungs, IH acknowledges. However, use of these masks should also be avoided by most people, the health authority says.
A mask may actually make it more difficult to breathe normally, so they could be particularly risky for the elderly and people with existing respiratory or heart conditions.
As well, most masks don’t fit children’s faces properly, they can’t be worn by people with facial hair, and they stop working if they get saturated with water or sweat.
Anyone who still wants to wear a particulate respirator should consult with a doctor first, IH says. Outdoor workers who choose to wear a face mask should ensure it is labelled N95.
“If you need to be outside during a smoke event and want to wear a mask, take regular breaks from wearing the mask so your body can recover from the increased breathing required,” the IH advisory states. “Discard used and dirty masks regularly.”
The best way for people to protect themselves from smoky air, IH says, is simply to stay indoors at an air-conditioned location or leave the area. Commercially available HEPA (high efficiency particular air) filters can create a clean air space in the room of a house, IH says.
On another scale that measures air quality, the level of fine particulate matter in Kelowna was rated at 163 on Wednesday morning. It has been in the unhealthy range since Tuesday, and is forecast to be similarly foul or even hazardous today.
Skiers and cloud-haters can often escape the gloom of a winter’s day in the Okanagan by heading to the highest nearby mountain.
But there’s no such high-altitude escape route available to anyone bothered by persistent grey-white smoky skies now blanketing the Valley.
“Right now, the satellite imagery is showing even many of the mountain peaks to be covered in smoke,” Tarek Ayache, a Penticton-based air-quality meteorologist for the provincial government, said Wednesday.
“Winds from the west are probably going to bring good news for Vancouver Island and the Coast, with skies there clearing a bit in the next few days,” Ayache said. “Unfortunately for us, the smoke looks like it’s going to be sticking around for the next few days.”
For the fourth straight day, air quality in the Okanagan was classed as unhealthy on Wednesday as smoke from fires to the north and south clouded the Valley. The index was at nine on a scale of one to 10, with predictions of a slight clearing today.
Beyond 24 hours, smoke prediction forecasts are generally unreliable, due mainly to ever-changing wind patterns and the unpredictable nature of forest fires, Ayache said.
Smoke concentrations are generally less during the day than at night because the warmer temperatures promote more thermal mixing of the atmosphere, slightly dissipating the smoke, Ayache said.
“All things being equal, you would expect the smoke to be a little worse at night,” he said.
Environment Canada is predicting the same high of 27 C every day between Friday and next Tuesday. The weather service also says each day will be sunny, with skies clear at night.
For its part, The Weather Network says highs for the next six days will be around 31 C, also with sunny skies.