Here's how smoky it was in B.C., and Canada, this wildfire season, compared to previous years - Action News
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British Columbia

Here's how smoky it was in B.C., and Canada, this wildfire season, compared to previous years

People across Canada were affected by smoke more than ever in 2023, according to data from Environment Canada.

Record number of air quality alerts countrywide

Two people are seen from behind as they walk down an empty road. The sky is orange with wildfire smoke.
Two men walk along a road in Scotch Creek in B.C.'s North Shuswap as wildfire smoke fills the air on Aug. 19. This year, people across Canada were affected by smoke more than ever. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

The first major evacuation order of B.C.'sfire season came early this year: on May 15, the Peace River Regional District in the province's northeast ordered approximately 1,800 properties to be vacated due to the Red Creek and Stoddart Creek wildfires burning in the region.

At the same time, more than 20,000 people the entire population of the city of Fort St. John were warned to be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice should the flames advance.

The fires never made it into the city but the smoke did, blanketing residents with ash.

This year, people across Canada had their days impacted by smoke more than ever.

According to data from Environment Canada, the number of air quality alerts issued over 2023shot up to levels not previously seen, particularly in May and June as smoke blanketed parts of eastern Canadaspiking at more than 1,400 in June.

A graph shows air quality bulletins by month in Canada.
The number of air quality bulletins across Canada by month is shown in this graph by Environment Canada. It shows how the number of bulletins in 2023 far outstripped previous years. (Environment Canada)

Chuck Fowler, who was born and raised in the Peace River area, said over the past several years, residents have become used to what he called "fire season."

"It's starting to be something that's fairly regular, right? When I was a kid, fire season wasn't really a thing, and now it's part of our lexicon," he said.

"It's almost an expectation."

People are having to adapt, saidFowler, who runs a filtration products company.

He said once smoke hits a certain level, all outdoor work in the region has to stop because of health concerns for his workers.

Health officials and WorkSafeBC, the provincial workplace safety agency,advise against outdoor activity as the risks of wildfire smoke become more apparent.

"It affects operations, businesses, municipalities it's a reality," Fowler said.

A car drives through smoke caused by wildfires burning nearby in Fort St. John, B.C.
A car drives through smoke from wildfires burning nearby in Fort St. John, B.C. Health officials and WorkSafeBC advise against outdoor activity as the risks of wildfire smoke become more apparent. (Martin Diotte/CBC)

Low-visibility hours

In northernB.C. and Alberta, there were more days with air quality alerts than past years as massive wildfires forced evacuations and sent smoke across the region, according to Environment Canada data.

Not all parts of the province were equally impacted, though.

While Fort Nelson, in B.C.'s far northeast, saw more smoke than previous years, parts of southern B.C. remained relatively clear until late in the season and experienced less smoke than in the wildfire seasons of 2017 and 2018.

B.C. as a whole saw fewer air quality advisories than those years.


The number of hours of recorded low visibility defined by Environment Canada as visibilitybetween 0 and 9.656 kilometres is another indicator of the severity of wildfire smoke.

While low-visibilityhoursis not an official Environment Canada statistic, Armel Castellan, ameteorologist with the agency, told CBC News in an email that it is a useful approximation to see how smoke affected the air in B.C. cities.




A shifting baseline

In B.C., many businesses and individuals have adapted to increased smoke by buying air purifiers, wearing masks and improving ventilation in buildings.

But as important as it is to adapt to the reality of smokier summers, it's also important not to lose sight of how much things are changing as a result of climate change fuelling hotter and drier summers, leading to more volatile forests, said Dezene Huber, a researcher and professor in the ecosystem science and management program at the University of Northern B.C.

Huber compared smoky skies to a concept called "shifting baseline syndrome," a term ecologists use todescribe the phenomenonwhere environmental conditions perceived as "normal"change, as each passing generation experience different conditions of normal.

A larger boat is seen in the background of a paddleboat being driven by two people, with wildfire smoke hanging in the air.
Smoke fills the air as Pat Manzuik and her husband Trevor use a paddleboat to get to shore after being given a boat ride by good samaritan Christy Dewalt, back right, back to their home they were evacuated from due to the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire, in Scotch Creek, British Columbia, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Huber said he's now seeing people compare smoke levels in current years to more recent history, forgetting that it wasn't always normal for skies to be blacked out by ash on an annual basis.

"If we just sort of roll over and accept what is coming at us, it's less likely that we're going to see the need for changes," he said.

"If we assume that what we're seeing out there is normal, it's an easy way to deny what's happening."

With files from Akshay Kulkarni