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Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R • F O U N D E D I N 1 8 9 1 • W W W. T H E P R O G R E S S . C O M • F R I D AY, J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 5
Sockeye salmon in hot water Fraser fishing may be severely curtailed Jeff Nagel Black Press
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Smoke from B.C. wildfires nearly obscures the setting sun over Chilliwack this week as air quality advisories continue. GREG KNILL/ PROGRESS
Poor air quality requires more mindfulness Jennifer Feinberg The Progress You can hardly make out the mountains these days in Chilliwack through the smoky haze. But it’s not just the disturbing visible impacts when there is a sustained air quality advisory in effect, like the one in B.C. now from wildfire smoke. It also means that at-risk individuals need to take certain precautions, said Lisa Mu, medical health officer with Fraser Health. An air quality advisory issued for Metro Vancouver was extended to the Fraser Valley this week due to high concen-
trations of fine particulate matter, after wildfire smoke started wafting into local airsheds. “As air quality levels have been quite variable across the region, we want citizens to be mindful and alert to symptoms, and to take precautions to protect themselves,” said Dr. Mu. There are higher than normal concentrations of fine particulates, known as PM2.5, than they would expect, and the heat is compounding the situation. “Individuals with chronic lung and heart conditions, as well as the elderly and young children, are at increased risk of health effects from particulate matter,” she said. More PM2.5s in the air could
lead to an exacerbation of those existing medical conditions, and people who are otherwise healthy could see irritation of the eyes, the throat, as well as coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. “It is definitely an irritant,” Dr. Mu said. Fine particulate matter means that the size of the tiny irritating particles are less than 2.5 microns in diameter. “The smaller particulates are of greater concern because they move more deeply into the lungs,” the health officer said. Air quality advisories for most of the B.C. South Coast will continue because of high concentrations of fine particulate matter
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due to wildfire smoke. Smoky sky advisories were also issued for most of the Southern Interior because of forest fire smoke affecting the area. Dr. Mu did not have any hard numbers or statistics handy on hospital emergency visits since the bad air moved in locally. “But I would say anecdotally we have seen more cases of respiratory complaints than usual,” she said. That statement was borne out on social media when readers were asked about impacts of bad AQ by The Progress. Several readers reported feeling fatigue, sore and scratchy throats, burning eyes, coughContinued: AQ/ p5
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Dangerously hot water temperatures in the Fraser River, combined with low river flows and unusually warm ocean conditions are conspiring to create a dire outlook for returning sockeye salmon. And that could mean no fishing at all for the roughly 6.8 million sockeye projected to be on their way back to the Fraser to spawn – easily enough for what should have been a decent season. “What’s going on now is not good and I don’t anticipate it being good in August,” said Mike Lapointe, chief biologist for the Pacific Salmon Commission. “But it’s just a matter of waiting to see where the indicators are at that time and making the decisions based on the evidence we have. I think the observed data is going to be pretty extreme.” He said it’s “certainly possible” that sockeye fisheries will be severely curtailed or even cancelled altogether because a large proportion of the run may not survive to reach the spawning grounds. A record low snowpack in the mountains this year has meant what little snow was in the alpine has melted off sooner than usual, leaving less to keep stream and river levels up and their temperatures down later in the summer. Fraser River temperatures at Hope have already gone over 19 degrees in recent days, Lapointe said, when the norm at this time of year is less than 15 degrees. “It’s extremely warm,” he said, adding the lower water flows compound the problem. “It’s like a bathtub. If you don’t have a lot of water in it, it’s really sensitive to the temperatures around.” High temperatures of 19 or 20 and higher can be deadly for salmon, which