Vanderhoof air quality rating double the level considered hazardous

The air quality in Vanderhoof from B.C. wildfire smoke is more than double the level considered hazardous to health, according to the World Air Quality Index.

According to Air Visual, which tracks the global levels with an interactive map, a hazard level of air pollution is an AQI level of 301.

Vanderhoof had an AQI rating of 619.

Other B.C. communities with ratings far exceeding levels considered hazardous were Houston at 410 AQI and Burns Lake at 408 AQI.

Vanderhoof Mayor Gerry Thiessen said the smoke was “really bad” on Wednesday.

Vanderhoof is located about 30 kilometres away from the more than 86,000-hectare Shovel Lake wildfire, he said, adding there was no wind on Wednesday, trapping the haze in the valley.

Community members and council were busy planning events at the YMCA and various churches to keep people busy.

“The air is really bad on the lungs but it’s also emotionally draining,” he said.

“That’s why we are working really hard to find indoor activities for people.”

He said outdoor sports games have all been cancelled, and the playgrounds around town are virtually empty of children because of what he described as a “serious fog” hanging thick in the valley.

“You can see the ash collecting on the cars and that gives you an idea of what you are breathing in,” he said.

Thiessen said he knew the air was bad but wasn’t aware of the recent AQI rating.

He said so far there had been no major health incidents because of smoke reported at the hospital.

Vancouver ranked No. 5 as the worst major city for air quality in the world on Wednesday with an AQI of 143.

Seattle and Portland, which are also affected by the wildfire smoke, were No. 1 and No. 4, respectively.

Environment Canada continued its longest running air quality advisory for much of the province on Wednesday.

In Metro Vancouver, the agency said there are high concentrations of fine particulate matter in the air from the hundreds of wildfires burning in B.C. and the U.S.

The air quality advisory was also expanded to include ground-level ozone. Concentrations of ozone are expected reach advisory levels in eastern Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, with high concentrations expected to persist until at least Thursday.

The agency says groundlevel ozone is formed when nitrogen oxides (pollutants emitted when fuels are burned) and volatile organic compounds (emitted from solvents) react in the air.