Long summer days choked with wildfire haze has made this the smokiest summer on record in Alberta’s biggest cities.
Environment Canada data shows Edmonton and Calgary have set new records for “smoke hours,” which are counted when the haze becomes particularly thick, reducing visibility along the horizon to 9.7 kilometres or less.
Records on smoke hours have been kept for more than 70 years. The previous record for both Edmonton and Calgary was set in 2018.
Between May and September of that year, Edmonton recorded 229 smoke hours. Calgary recorded 450 smoke hours during the same time frame.
This year, as of Sunday, Edmonton has recorded 244 smoke hours. Calgary has recorded 464 smoke hours so far this summer.
The totals for both cities are expected to rise as smoke continues to drift in from wildfires burning in B.C. and the north.
Smoky days ahead
Heather Pimiskern, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said a shift in the winds will mean the same plumes of smoke that drifted across Alberta over the weekend will again pass over in the province in the coming days.
“Winds are expected to switch again overnight tonight, into tomorrow, to be from the southeast,” Pimiskern said in an interview Monday.
“All the smoke that passed over us over the last 24 hours is expected to come back into us. So unfortunately, the air quality will continue to be poor over the next couple of days.”
After days shrouded in smog, special air quality statements remain in effect for almost every part of the province. The advisories from Environment Canada caution that smoke pollution can be harmful to everyone’s health, even at low concentrations.
The province spent the weekend under a blanket of smoke with air pollution measured at a 10-plus on the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI).
Developed by Health Canada, the system monitors the severity of air pollution by tracking fine particulate matter, ground-level ozone, and nitrogen dioxide. When the rating is high, people exposed to the smog face significant health risks.
The smoke moved into Alberta on Friday and despite initial forecasts that indicated the skies would clear by Saturday, the hazy conditions persisted, forcing many to cancel their long weekend plans and hunker down inside.
Some of the worst of the pollution is reaching Alberta’s largest cities. Residents of Edmonton and Calgary woke up Monday to the pungent smell of fire and a haze that clouded visibility on local roads.
As of Monday, the Air Quality Health Index for Edmonton was rated at a 10, or high risk. In Calgary, the air pollution was also considered a high risk on the AQHI scale.
Pimiskern said the forecast suggests that the skies over Alberta should clear by the end of this week.
“However, the smoke is really hard to predict,” she said. “There are so many factors that come into play, so we keep hoping that conditions will improve.”
Environment Canada said air quality and visibility due to the wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour.
People with lung disease, such as asthma, people with heart disease, older people, children, pregnant people and those who work outside are at higher risk of experiencing health effects, the agency said.
Environment Canada recommends the following:
If you or someone in your care experiences shortness of breath, wheezing, severe cough, dizziness or chest pains, stop outdoor activities and contact your health care provider.
If you are feeling unwell and experiencing symptoms, stay inside.
Keep your indoor air clean.
Keep your doors and windows closed if the temperature in your home is comfortable.
Take a break from the smoke by temporarily relocating or finding a place in your community with clean, cool air such as a library, shopping mall or community centre.
If you must spend time outdoors, a well-fitted respirator type mask that does not allow air to pass through small openings between the mask and your face can help reduce your exposure to fine particles in smoke.
Be sure to check on people in your care and those who may be more susceptible to smoke.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
