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HOW SALINA KUNG IS CHANGING THE WORLD WEDNESDAY JULY 8 2015
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS.
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Fire ‘had the potential to be quite devastating’ Crews battle brush fire on Burnaby Mountain for nearly 12 hours Cayley Dobie
cdobie@burnabynow.com
THE AIR OUT THERE Burnaby was bathed in a golden glow on the weekend as the region found itself blanketed by smoke from forest fires that are burning around Southern B.C. An air quality advisory has been issued. PHOTO ROB KRUYT
Take extra care out there
Hospitals see a spike in emergency visits for respiratory problems as fires rage around the province Cornelia Naylor
cnaylor@burnabynow.com
Burnaby residents with asthma, chronic respiratory disease and heart failure were warned to take precautions against a thick blanket of smoke hovering over Metro Vancouver earlier this week. The regional authority and Environment Canada issued a joint air-quality advisory Monday in response to smoke from wildfires that has shrouded much of the Lower Mainland, the Strait of Georgia and southern Vancouver Island since Sunday morning. Air quality maps of Burnaby showed concentrations of fine particulate matter shooting past four times the target level over a 24-
hour period. Levels had returned to below target by 6 a.m.Tuesday, but the air-quality advisory remained in effect. “Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have diabetes, and lung or heart disease,” stated the Metro Vancouver advisory. “Persons with chronic underlying medical conditions should postpone strenuous exercise until the advisory is lifted. Staying indoors and in airconditioned spaces helps to reduce fine particulate exposure.” People experiencing difficulty breathing, chest pain or discomfort, or the sudden onset of cough or irritation of airways are advised to contact their doctor.
Emergency rooms have seen a jump in respiratory-related visits, according to Fraser Health Authority spokesperson Tasleem Juma, but health officials can’t say conclusively whether the smoke is the cause. “It’s difficult to determine whether it’s air quality, or heat or something else,” Juma told the NOW. Fine particulate matter refers to airborne solids or liquid droplets with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less. It can easily penetrate indoors because of its small size. Most masks available at drug stores won’t filter out fine particulate matter, according to Fraser Health, so if people intend to use masks they should make sure they are rated to filter out particles of 2.5 microns in size and that users are wearing the mask properly. Continued on page 8
Joy ofSummer
for the
It took 40 firefighters and nearly 12 hours to knock down a bush fire on the north side of Burnaby Mountain that a local assistant fire chief said could have been devastating had it been able to spread. Around 9:10 a.m. on Sunday, firefighters were alerted of a smoke plum billowing from atop Burnaby Mountain. When they arrived, crews determined the fire was coming from a dense area of bush north of University Drive East and Cardiac Hill, which is a steep offshoot of the Trans Canada Trail. “The fire was approximately 500 to 600 feet off the roadway, down the hill, into the forest. It wasn’t right off the trail.They had to do some foraging into the forest,” said Rick Weir, assistant fire chief for the Burnaby Fire Department. By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire was growing quickly and had started to climb into the canopy of tree tops above,Weir noted. Even though the blaze was relatively small compared to fires in other areas of the province, the Burnaby Mountain fire could have been a lot worse had it not been dealt with so quickly,Weir said. “This one had the potential to be quite devastating,”Weir said. “It had the potential to become like the ones we’re seeing on television right now.” Crews acted quickly and doused the flames with water to prevent the blaze from spreading through the canopy,Weir said. “(That) was extremely beneficial because once the fire gets up into canopy like that, it starts travelling quite quickly,” he added. Once the canopy fire was put out and firefighters went to work on the ground fire. Reinforcements from the Coastal Continued on page 8
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