Metro Vancouver Regional District has issued an air quality advisory Friday morning, saying it expects it to continue into the weekend.
This comes as multiple wildfires continue to burn in B.C. and the Pacific Northwest.
“Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are experiencing elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter,” the district said in its advisory. “The fine particulate matter is primarily due to smoke from wildfires burning throughout BC and Washington State.”
The district said everyone should take precautions in dealing with the poor air quality.
“Postpone or reduce outdoor physical activity while fine particulate matter and ozone concentrations are high, especially if breathing feels uncomfortable,” it said.
“Exposure is particularly a concern for people with underlying conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including bronchitis and emphysema, and other lung diseases, heart diseases, and/or diabetes; individuals with respiratory infections; pregnant people; infants and children; older adults; and outdoor workers (e.g., construction and agricultural workers).”
The smoke has been noticeable in the region throughout Friday morning.
Darren Grieve in the CityNews 1130 air patrol says they were grounded during the morning commute because conditions were so poor. In fact, he says it is the worst seen this season.
“We did fly yesterday, even though it was a little bit smoky, but the smoke seemed to be a little bit higher than we had to fly, so we managed to dodge it,” he said. “But for today, it looks like the smoke starts about 100, 200 feet off the ground, and we’re up to 1500 feet, which is as high as we fly, and we still haven’t been able to get on top of it.”
Grieve says it didn’t take long for them to realize today was very different from Thursday.
“Drove in this morning, it didn’t look all that bad,” he said. “You could see the smoke but as soon as we took off… it was immediate. We were flying in the middle of the smoke.
“Our eyes were watering before we even got to the Massey tunnel.”
The air advisory will remain in effect until further notice.
source & photo : CityNews
