— Smokey haze may return to area skies —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — August 16, 2006) -]
By Julie TurnerrnOsoyoos Times
Although wildfires continue to burn in the Okanogan Mountain Range in Washington State, a cold front moved through the B.C. Southern Interior last Wednesday, shifting winds north-westerly and clearing smoke from the Osoyoos area. The cleaner and more unstable air from the Pacific moved into the Southern Interior August 9 and helped to redirect the smoke away from the area.
Smoke and falling ash from the Tripod and Spur Peak Fires, located about 90 kilometres south of Keremeos, had been prompting the Ministry of Environment to issue daily air quality advisories throughout the first week of August.
The highest smoke concentration registered at the Osoyoos Canada Customs air quality monitoring station was on August 2, at 142 microns per cubic metre, nearly five times the Canada-wide standard of 30. With the higher readings came health warnings, especially directed at people with chronic conditions like asthma, heart or lung disease, but the smoke concentrations fell over the past week. By August 9, the number had dropped to 2 microns per cubic metre.
But by Monday, August 14, the number had risen up to 21, as smoke from the Washington fires was spread over much of the South and Central Okanagan, although it remained at high elevations in the atmosphere. An advisory issued by the province on Monday stated some communities would experience elevated smoke concentrations overnight and in the early morning hours throughout this week. As of Monday, the Washington fires were 25 per cent contained, with 2,287 personnel involved in the firefighting effort and 83,436 acres consumed. Estimates report the fires will probably not be out until October.
Meanwhile, on August 10, the province's Ministry of Forests and Range noted the fire danger rating in B.C.'s Southern Interior remained high to extreme. The B.C. Forest Service cautions people to be careful outdoors to help prevent wildfires. Over the August long weekend, two-thirds of all fire starts in the province were person-caused and are thus preventable, the report stated. People recreating in the forests are urged to douse campfires with water until the ashes are cool to the touch and to ensure cigarettes are not disposed of carelessly. Restrictions on backyard burning and industrial burning are currently in effect in the Kamloops, Cariboo, Coastal and Southeast regions.
Fires in British Co-lumbia as of August 14 totalled 1,859, up from the same period in 2005, which reported 775 and 2004's 1,776. Hectares burned by that date are 120,675, also up from 2005's 32,918 but less than 2004's 190,389. Totals costs so far in 2006 for firefighting in the province are $94.94 million.
