Wildfire smoke to envelop Metro

Health risk low for now, but experts fear the dirty air will stay until fall

It's only a matter of time before Metro Vancouver feels the full brunt of the wildfire smoke that's smothering southern parts of B.C.

Experts say that what's in the forecast for Saturday. Easterly winds carrying smoke into the region as early as 3 a.m. could foreshadow what is still to come.

Christopher Rodell of the University of B.C.'s FireSmoke forecasting system said it predicts smoke will envelop Metro until strong Pacific winds push it back eastward the next day. What's still to be determined is the concentration of the particulate matter, or smoke, in the air, although current estimates put it at low risk of causing any adverse health effects, he said.

“It won't be terribly noticeable, but people with sensitive noses might be able to detect the smoke,” said the atmospheric science researcher.

However short-lived the smoke will be for Metro, Rodell said it's possible more smoke could touch down locally with the wildfire season expected to last into the fall.

“B.C.'s wildfire season started weeks early and peak wildfire season, in August, is still on its way,” he said.

Currently, much of the central part of the province is at extreme risk of wildfires. There are more than 240 fires burning, three dozen of which are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Environment Canada meteorologist Gregg Walters said people in Metro are largely protected from the wildfire smoke, even as new fires continue to spark in areas just outside Metro's eastern boundary, in rural Spuzzum.

“The majority of smoke from fires tends to travel east and north, wafting from the southern Interior into southern and central Alberta.”

In Metro, the health risk remained low Thursday, according to the province's air quality health index (AQHI), which measures a mixture of pollutants including particulate matter (PM 2.5), ground-level ozone and nitrogen dioxide in the air.

Castlegar, Kamloops and Vernon, near where several wildfires are burning, have seen air quality levels topping B.C.'s 10-point scale, posing extreme health risks to people. The only relief in sight for B.C. is that rain is in the forecast for Saturday in the southern Interior, Walters said.

“Sunday night through Monday, rain is predicted from the Okanagan area all the way north into Kamloops, which will tamper down the smoke,” he said.

A Leger survey for Postmedia News said that nearly a quarter of Canadians (23 per cent) are choosing to stay indoors more due to smoke caused by wildfires.

Rodell and Walters said typical wind and weather patterns predict wildfires in the south as the greatest threats to Metro's air quality.

“We've been very lucky to not be on the receiving end of the smoke from those forest fires, like in 2018, when we saw smoke come up from Oregon and Washington (state),” said Walters.

At a Thursday news conference, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said smoke caused by wildfires is a respiratory irritant.

“It makes it harder for your lungs to get oxygen into your blood,” the doctor said, which can cause complications for those with chronic lung illness.

Her recommendations? Wear a mask outside, stay in air-conditioned spaces, remain hydrated, and minimize strenuous forms of exercise.