Vancouver’s air quality affected as several wildfires rage through province
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – “It’s a lot smoky and dangerous, so for me, it’s kind of sad,” said Jessica White as a volunteer with the Burnaby Fire Centre.
It’s been a rainy week here in Vancouver, and despite that, the city is struggling to keep its air quality at safe levels.
The city is battling a series of large wildfires which have impacted its air quality to varying degrees over the past three weeks.
The most visible, the Burnaby Forest fire, is still growing and has destroyed more than 300 homes and is threatening upwards of 50,000 more, the second-largest fire in the province’s history.
The blaze is now at a record-breaking 10,100 hectares, three times the size of the 2015 fire that destroyed more than 16,500 homes.
And the third-largest fire is raging through the North Shore, which is only 7.2km from the centre of Vancouver.
A photo posted by Jennifer Shaffer (@jennifer_shaffer) on May 10, 2016 at 2:00am PDT
B.C. wildfires raging through city
An aerial view of the North Shore’s Whalley fire, which is burning at 437 hectares, or about 17 hectares per day.
The North Shore is the centre of the provincial fire-fighting effort – there are three fire forces in the area, and it takes a long time for the various helicopters to get to and from the fire.
Vancouver is only about 11.5km from the fire and residents are being warned to stay indoors and away from open flames.
There are also two communities nearby at the top end of the North Shore.
A photo posted by Jennifer Shaffer (@jennifer_shaffer) on May 10, 2016 at 2:23am PDT
A photo posted by Jennifer Shaffer (@jennifer_shaffer) on May 10, 2016 at 10:26am PDT
A photo posted by Jennifer Shaffer (@jennifer_shaffer) on May 10, 2016 at 10:44am PDT
A photo posted by Jennifer Shaffer (@jennifer_shaffer) on May 10, 2016 at 10:34am PDT
A photo posted by Jennifer Shaffer (@jennifer_sh