You might be smelling wildfire smoke, but Vancouver’s air quality is still okay

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — You may be able to smell wildfire smoke across Metro Vancouver, but according to the experts, there’s no reason to worry as air quality remains good.

The smell is coming from two wildfires burning in the area: one in Sea to Sky Country and the other on the Sunshine Coast.

Most of the smoke seen and smelled onTuesday is coming from the Strip Creek Wildfire, which started up over the weekend north of Horseshoe Bay.

Francis Reis with Metro Vancouver’s Air Quality and Climate Change Group says that smokey smell won’t die down anytime soon, as that fire is still burning.

And a wildfire on the Sunshine Coast isn’t making the situation any better. Reis says the smoke will likely continue to drift into the region until those fires die down.

“We are starting to maybe see some impacts of smoke from the fire that’s burning in the Pender Harbour area of the Sunshine Coast,” he says. “There is some indication that smoke from that fire making its way south.”

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But, at least for now, you don’t need to worry about air quality, he says. There’s no real risk associated with the smoke at this time.

“Sometimes it’s possible to see and smell smoke at levels that are well below advisory threshholds,” he says. “Certainly we’re not anywhere near the territory where we would consider calling an advisory yet, so still pretty modest impacts on our regional air quality.”

Families living near the Pender Harbour fire are preparing to possibly evacuate as the fire moves closer to homes and other buildings in the area.

The fire north of Horseshoe Bay is now about 4 hectares in size, and is contained and being held.