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Air Quality Advisory issued for Metro Vancouver

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – An air quality advisory has been issued for Metro Vancouver.

The region’s air quality department says high concentrations of fine particulate matter have been detected from wildfires burning in the surrounding area.
Anyone with chronic medical conditions is advised to forego strenuous exercise until the advisory is lifted. People with diabetes, lung disease or heart disease are especially at risk, as well as young children and the elderly.

The department says staying either inside or in air-conditioned spaces can reduce exposure to air particulates.The advisory is expected to remain in effect until the weather changes.

Metro Vancouver spent much of the day under a thick blanket of smoky haze. It is being blamed on the out of control wildfire situation in the province right now.

Winds have shifted, bringing in smoke from all the wildfires burning in the Interior and other parts of the province. The sun was also a very bright orange-red colour.

Fire Information Officer Donna Macpherson says it’s frustrating to deal with blazes sparked by careless people. “We are used to going to our lakes, rivers and our forest walks but we are not aware of how incredibly dry it is. Usually in June we get a lot of rain and we got none. We’ve got another couple of months to get through so we are asking everybody to think about what they are doing.”

Macpherson says many people have called in with concerns. “We are having people call in the smoke which we are very grateful for but the problem is our 1-800 centre is getting a lot of calls about very generalized smoke. We need people to call in fires, that is very important, but please only call in if you have a column of smoke in your view.”

NEWS 1130 also got reports of ash falling from Maple Ridge to Vancouver to Sea to Sky Country.

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