Wildfires have created smoky conditions in the region, leading Environment Canada to issue a special air quality statement on Sunday for Campbell River, the Comox Valley, Duncan, Nanaimo and Parksville. Smoke created a haze over Campbell River, and the sun appeared as a reddish glow behind the smoky veil at times.
Environment Canada reminded the public that exposure to wildfire smoke can be harmful, especially for the elderly, infants and children, and sensitive individuals or those with pre-existing health conditions.
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Levels of the fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 spiked this weekend at the Elk Falls Dogwood station, rising to a 24-hour average of 15 micrograms per cubic metre.
That’s the highest concentration of those dangerous particles in the atmosphere since July 31, although still below the “pollutant objective” of 25 micrograms per cubic metre that’s considered by the province to be an acceptable limit.
Lightning sparked more than 30 new wildfires on the Island this weekend, according to the BC Wildfire Service. But fires suspected to be person-caused also flared up, including one at Kaypit Lake measuring 15 hectares. Meanwhile, smoky conditions have led to an air quality advisory affecting Campbell River.
Dorthe Jakobsen, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre, said 34 fires started Saturday in the region, 31 of them due to lightning and three suspected to be person-caused.
By Monday morning, more than two dozen wildfires were burning on the North Island following lightning storms this weekend. The fire closest to Campbell River was at Buttle Lake, in Strathcona Provincial Park. A very small flare-up, it measured a fraction of a hectare.
READ MORE: Lightning sparks more than 30 fires on Vancouver Island
A cluster of fires also erupted this weekend among the mountains and inlets of the northwest Island, mostly between Campbell River and Port Alice.
Most of those were small, measuring a fraction of a hectare by Monday morning. However, there was also a 25-hectare fire at Vernon Lake and another measuring 15 hectares at Kaypit Lake. The latter is suspected to be person-caused, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
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The larger of the North Island fires were still dwarfed by those happening elsewhere in the province, including one at Nanaimo Lakes that was estimated at 182 hectares by Monday. That fire, discovered on Aug. 5, is suspected to be person-caused, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Donna MacPherson, a spokesperson for the Coastal Fire Centre, urged caution as temperatures are expected to become hot and dry again, despite a bit of rain this weekend.
“Although the temperatures have gone down and we’ve got a little bit of precipitation, we’re looking at the temperatures to rebound into warm and dry again.”
She said forecasts don’t call for a significant rainfall until at least Aug. 20.
-With files from the Nanaimo News Bulletin
@davidgordonkoch
david.koch@campbellrivermirror.com
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