WATCH: The smoky wildfire haze is lingering over Metro Vancouver causing breathing problems and dangers for many. Elaine Yong reports.
B.C.’s Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources, Steve Thomson, says this is the most challenging wildfire situation he has ever seen.
“This is the earliest start so we’re having conditions now you don’t normally see.”
There are approximately 180 wildfires burning across the province. Twenty-seven were started on Sunday alone. More than 222,000 hectares (2,220 kilometres) have burned so far.
“We have all of the resources deployed, over 1,400 firefighters in our crews, in partnership with local fire crews and support services, contractors,” says Thomson.
He says the provincial government will make available all of their resources to deal with this challenging situation, including looking at possibly signing a contract with the owner of the Martin Mars bombers to assist in firefighting efforts.
The public is also asked to remain vigilant in their actions outdoors. There is a ban on all campfires, fireworks and open burning throughout B.C., except for Vancouver Island’s ‘Fog Zone’.
WATCH: Much of Metro Vancouver’s smoke is coming from several large fires burning near Pemberton. John Hua has a closer look at the source of the haze.
This zone extends from Owen Point (near Port Renfrew) north to the tip of Vancouver Island and around to the boundary of the District of Port Hardy.
“Too many fires are human-caused, 40 of the fires currently burning are human-caused,” says Thomson.
READ MORE: Global BC’s full fire coverage
Just over $80 million has been spent on battling the wildfires to date and the province is looking at calling in more help from across the country and possibly the United States. “Requests are out so we will look to those as we need them,” says Thomson, adding that the military has not been called.
Kevin Skrepnek from the Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre says eight communities across B.C. are under evacuation order or alert due to the fires.
“These kinds of conditions are not unprecedented in B.C.” he says. “I think what’s been unusual for us so far this year is all the lightning.”
The fires have caused a lot of smoke and haze over much of the South Coast:
“I think this level of activity is hopefully making people a little bit more aware,” says Skrepnek. “Certainly that’s something we are typically battling quite often – complacency, from a prevention perspective. People don’t necessarily see the fires, they don’t think conditions are that bad where they’re at. B.C.’s a pretty diverse province geographically so that can be a challenge sometimes, especially if people are on vacation, things like that.”
“Hopefully the public is getting the message just how dynamic the situation is right now.”
Smoke has created a heavy blanket of stagnant grey haze over the province’s south coast, setting off unusual air quality advisories across southern Vancouver Island, along the mainland coast, Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
Roger Quan, director of air quality for Metro Vancouver, said conditions worsened Monday as the smell of smoke permeated some parts of the region.
“This is more widespread than anything we’ve seen in the past,” he said.
“The wind is blowing smoke from, we believe, the Sunshine Coast and the Sea-to-Sky area. There are three large fires in that area and that seems to be impacting us most heavily. But there are also fires in the B.C. Interior so we’re receiving smoke from both ends.”
People with heart or lung problems or medical conditions such as diabetes, as well as the elderly and the very young, are urged to remain indoors and limit strenuous activity.
Chris Carlsten, who works in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, said the heat and the smoke from the wildfires are a problematic combination, especially for people with breathing problems.
“The heat will make us breathe more heavily as we try to cool our bodies. That will lead to deeper inhalation of particulate matter.”
He said the pattern of high temperature and fires are a sure sign of climate change.
“Metro Vancouver has some of the best air quality in the world for an urban setting. When events like this happen we’re reminded that that can be reversed very quickly.”
-with files from Canadian Press
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