What was once the sun is now a hazy orange circle shining dimly through the haze of wildfire smoke, obscuring the mountains of the Fraser Valley as firefighters battle more than 560 blazes across the province.
On Tuesday, the Fraser Valley hit a ‘very high-risk’ 10+ score on Environment Canada’s air quality index – the tip of the scale.
District of Kent mayor and life-long Agassiz resident John Van Laerhoven said he remembers some hot summers in the Valley, but has never seen skies quite like this.
“I don’t remember a [wildfire] producing nearly as much smoke,” he said. “I’m sure the smoke we’re getting here and in the Valley now is the result of not just the [Mount Hicks] fire, it’s from the other fires east of us as well.”
“I don’t remember it being as smoky and the sun just being an orange or red ball in the sky. I remember some longer, hotter summers…but it was just hot, there wasn’t fires burning as close to us.”
The Agassiz Farm Fresh Market was cancelled Aug. 16 due to smoke, with organizers posting on Facebook that the decision followed poor air quality concerns from the nearby fire.
Organizer Anna Wheeler said it was a tough call to make, but the market didn’t want to put vendors or attendees at risk.
“We all have little kids so we’re very aware of the air quality,” she said. “Our vendors would have had to have been outside for over five hours between set-up and take-down. We promote the market as being a family-friendly and community environment and we didn’t feel comfortable promoting the kids area and having families out to participate when we were trying so hard to keep our own kids inside.”
Wheeler said the market has to refund vendors for the closure.
“Some of our vendors pay week by week, but other vendors signed up at the very beginning of the season – they paid a flat rate to be involved in all those markets. We’re not having to refund a ton [of vendors], but we’re not-for-profit, we don’t have a ton of extra [income.] So this totally negatively impacts everybody.”
Decisions on the remaining markets, set to run weekly until Sept. 6, will be made on a case by case basis. Locals can check for updates on the Agassiz Farm Fresh Market Facebook page.
For some people, the smoke causes throat soreness, eye-burning and headaches but for others, its impact can be more serious.
The Fraser Valley’s air quality index prompts continuous warnings from the federal government to reduce or reschedule strenuous outdoor activities, especially for the at-risk population of children, the elderly and those with heart and lung conditions like asthma.
Fraser Health advises the public to:
•Reduce outdoor activity if breathing becomes difficult or uncomfortable
•Drink plenty of fluids
oReduce indoor pollution sources such as smoking or burning other materials
•Reduce outdoor pollution by taking transit, carpooling and minimizing the use of diesel-powered equipment.
