Just as the last vestiges of winter gave way to a few days of warm weather, smoke has clouded Alberta’s skies, bringing with it a foreboding memory of summers past, as wildfires continue to burn in the northern parts of the province.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued 321 air quality alerts, spanning the province from High Level to Milk River. Alberta Wildfire is reporting 50 active wildfires as of 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, with two currently classified as out-of-control.
One, near Fort McMurray, tripled in size overnight to extend its reach to about 5,500 hectares. The other, burning in Grande Prairie County in northwestern Alberta, had grown to about 1,400 hectares as of 1 p.m. Sunday.
Heather Rombough, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the Edmonton area, Grande Prairie and Peace River are currently experiencing the worst air-quality conditions.
Smoke is moving slowly eastward, said Rombough, and should continue to move in that direction overnight on Sunday. Areas along the western edge of the smoke area, in the foothills, will see improvements in conditions first, she added.
While much of the province should see skies beginning to clear by Monday night, conditions in the northernmost areas of Alberta will continue to be poor through at least Tuesday, said Rombough.
With little precipitation expected in the coming forecast, Rombough said people close to areas where wildfires are burning should continue to pay attention to information from local authorities about potential evacuations.
WATCH | Fires around Grande Prairie push people from their homes:
As CBC’s Sam Samson reports, fires in Grande Prairie County have forced an evacuation order and residents in Fort MacMurray are on alert to be ready to go on short notice.
Rombough said that it’s no longer uncommon to see wildfires burning so early in the season, based on observations over the last five to 10 years.
“The continuation of some of the significant fires from last year could have contributed to seeing such flare-ups so early,” she said.
“It does seem like this is the trend that we’re heading toward. It lines up with the science, the research that’s being done on climate change and that sort of thing. I mean, every year is going to be different, so it’s hard to really predict. But it does seem to be becoming more of what the new normal is.”
Jose Cano, who drove to Calgary from Edmonton on Saturday, said the smoke and the wildfires are to be expected after such a dry winter.
“The smoke … it’s become kind of our life now. Every year its getting worse and this year I guess [it’s earlier] than before,” said Cano.
Still, Cano said the conditions have dampened his trip.
“I was really sad, frustrated, because we want to enjoy the weather and we want to enjoy the city, look at some places, but it’s not very healthy.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada has listed 14 locations in the province as having an Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) of 10+, or very high risk. Rombough said their scales top out at 10 because “when it’s that bad, it’s terrible, no matter how much higher it is.”
She added that its important people in areas with an AQHI rating of 10 or 10+ monitor symptoms related to smoke, including mild irritation or discomfort in the throat or eyes.
“If you can stay inside and limit your exposure to the smoke, that’s obviously ideal. And if you can’t find somewhere that is, you know, indoors and not smoky. Just try to limit whatever activities you’re doing.”
Derek Beaulieu, who is in Calgary for the day visiting from Banff, said he plans to continue to monitor air-quality alerts, and change any planned activities, if needed.
“If things are too poor, especially with relatives that might have sensitivities then, yeah, we have to adjust our plans. We stay inside, we use air filters … I think that’s a really sad state for us all to be in.”
Beaulieu said that while he’s discouraged to see winter slide into smoky conditions so quickly, he hopes it won’t become the status quo for the summer months.
“We’re smarter than that and that we should be thinking about alternatives,” he said.
“I would love to see that we can come up with policies or plans or something, to learn from our previous years and come up with something that can help us resolve this problem and help with the environment, help with our own health and realize that there is something we can do about this.”