The province extended the smoky skies bulletin on Tuesday, saying more wildfire smoke from the United States is expected late Wednesday and early Thursday in the southern part of B.C.
However, the province also said in the longer term, more substantial improvements to air quality are expected due to a change in weather.
For Tuesday, the province said smoke impacts will continue but will improve across southern regions of the province today.
A large portion of Vancouver Island continues to be labelled as “very high risk” by the BC Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) as of Tuesday.
By receiving a rating of 10+ on the AQHI scale, it means experts are recommending that residents in smoky areas avoid strenuous activities outdoors. Children and the elderly should also avoid outdoor physical exertion, according to the BC AQHI.
More on the Smoky Skies Bulletin
The regions of B.C. highlighted on the map below, including all of Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands, are being impacted or are likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke over the next 24 to 72 hours.
The areas of B.C. under a smoky skies bulletin as of Sept. 15, 2020. (Province of BC)
Regions included under the bulletin are:
Arrow Lakes – Slocan Lake includes Slocan, New Denver, Nakusp, and Fauquier
Boundary includes Grand Forks, Midway and Greenwood
Campbell River includes Stories Beach
Central Okanagan includes Kelowna, Lake Country, West Kelowna and Peachland
Comox Valley includes Black Creek and Cumberland
East Columbia includes Golden
East Kootenay (North) includes Edgwater, Inveremere, Canal Flats and Skookumchuck
East Kootenay (South) includes Kimberley, Cranbrook, Yahk, Moyie, Wasa Lake Provinical Park, Jaffray, Grasmere and Roosville
Duncan extends from Ladysmith to Shawnigan Lake
East Vancouver Island (central) includes Nanoose Bay, Parksville, Coombs, Qualicum Beach, Fanny Bay, Hornby Island
Elk Valley includes Elko, Fernie, Sparwood and Elkford
Fraser Canyon (North) Includes Lillooet and Andersen lake.
Fraser Canyon (South) Trans Canada Hwy 1 from Lytton to Choate.
Greater Victoria includes Sidney, Victoria, Saanich, Langford, Metchosin
Howe Sound includes Horseshoe Bay, Lions Bay, Squamish, Bowen Island. There is some overlap between areas of Metro Vancouver (e.g. Horseshoe Bay, Lions Bay, Bowen Island) considered part of the Lower Fraser Valley Airshed and the Howe Sound zone used by BC ENV for issuing smoky skies bulletins. A smoky skies bulletin could be issued for the Howe Sound zone before the thresholds are reached to trigger an air quality advisory issued by Metro Vancouver for these overlapping parts of the Lower Fraser Valley Airshed. This should not be interpreted as conflicting information; it reflects the different approaches to notifications about wildfire smoke within the two agencies.
Inland Vancouver Island includes Lake Cowichan, Nahmint, Port Alberni, central portions of Strathcona Park and Schoen Lake Provincial Park
Kinbasket includes Kinbasket reservoir south of Valemount
Kootenay Lake includes Creston and Kaslo
Nanaimo includes Cedar, South Wellington, and Cassidy
Nicola includes Merritt, Strump Lake, Pennask Lake, and Brookmere.
North Columbia includes Blue River and McMurphy
North Okanagan includes Vernon, Armstrong, Enderby, Lavington and Lumby
North Thompson Includes Barriere, Clearwater and Vavenby.
North Vancouver Island includes Port Hardy, Port McNeill, Port Alice, Bull Harbour,
Alert Bay, Sayward, and Woss
Shuswap includes Salmon Arm, Sicamous, and Chase.
Similkameen includes Princeton
South Okanagan includes Penticton, Summerland, Naramata, Keremeos, Oliver and
Osoyoos
South Thompson includes Kamloops, Rayleigh, Monte Creek, Cache Creek, Spences
Bridge and Logan Lake.
Southern Gulf Islands includes Southern Gulf Islands
Sunshine Coast (south) includes Sechelt, Gibsons, and Earls Cove
Sunshine Coast (north) includes, Powell River and Quadra Island
West Columbia includes Revelstoke
West Kootenay includes Nelson, Castlegar, Trail, Rossland
West Vancouver Island includes Tofino, Uclulet, Port Renfrew, Sooke
Whistler includes Whistler and Pemberton
Yoho – Kootenay Park includes Yoho and Kootenay National Parks
The province says during a wildfire, smoke conditions can change quickly over short distances and can vary considerably hour-by-hour.
People with pre-existing health conditions, respiratory infections such as COVID-19, older adults, pregnant women and infants, children, and sensitive individuals are more likely to experience health effects from smoke exposure.
During smoky conditions people should:
- Stop or reduce your activity level if breathing becomes uncomfortable or you feel
unwell. - Stay cool and drink plenty of fluids.
- If you have asthma or other chronic illness, carry any rescue (fast-acting) medi cations with you at all times and activate your personal care plan that has been designed with your family physician.
- Make sure that children and others who cannot care for themselves follow the
same advice.
The province also says people respond differently to smoke. Mild irritation and discomfort are common
and usually disappear when the smoke clears. Exposure to wildfire smoke and the virus that causes COVID-19 can both result in respiratory symptoms such as a dry cough, sore throat, or difficulty breathing.
People can use the BC COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool to help determine if they need further assessment or testing for COVID-19.
If you are unsure whether you need medical care, call HealthLink BC at 811. If you are experiencing difficulty in breathing, chest pain or discomfort, or a severe cough, contact your health care provider, walk-in clinic, or emergency department. If you are having a medical emergency, call 911.
Here are the following tips from the province to reduce smoke exposure:
- Smoke levels may be lower indoors but will still be elevated, so stay aware of your symptoms even when you are indoors.
- Running a commercially available HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter can improve indoor air quality in the room where the device is located.
- If you have a forced air heating/cooling system in your home, it may help to change the filter and set the fan to run continuously.
- Reduce indoor air pollution sources such as smoking, burning incense, and frying foods.
- If travelling in a car with air conditioning, keep the windows up and the ventilation set to recirculate.
- If you are very sensitive to smoke, consider moving to another location with cleaner air, but be aware that conditions can change rapidly.
- Maintaining good overall health is a good way to prevent health effects resulting from short-term exposure to air pollution.
Alexa Huffman
