If you stepped outside in Whistler last weekend, you probably noticed the faint smell of campfire—despite the fact that a fire ban remained in effect throughout the resort.
A thick haze of wildfire smoke rolled into the Sea to Sky corridor from Aug. 19 to 20, prompting Environment Canada to issue an air quality advisory for Whistler. The local alert came one day after the B.C. government declared a state of emergency, as the fires responsible for that smoke burned out of control in the province’s Interior and southeast, destroying structures and forcing thousands of residents out of their homes.
According to Environment Canada, Whistler’s Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) rating sat at 10+, or very high risk, as of Sunday afternoon, Aug. 20.
“Wildfire smoke can be harmful to everyone’s health even at low concentrations,” the national weather agency explained in its advisory.
Though everyone in the community was encouraged to reduce their exposure to wildfire smoke and avoid strenuous outdoor activities until air quality improved, children, older athletes, people dealing with pre-existing illness or chronic health conditions and people who work outside were at a higher risk of suffering from ill effects of the smoke.
The contaminated air led Arts Whistler to cancel its “Hear & Now: In the Park” event, which was set to feature a live performance by local band The Cold Smoke, after organizers of Pemberton’s Slow Food Cycle announced that event wouldn’t happen as scheduled, either. (Flip to page 24 to read more.)
“The problem with [the air quality health index scale] is it kind of tops out at 10+,” explained Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau. “It’s not exactly designed for wildfire smoke, so there can be a lot of gradation above that 10+, but that’s where you reach the point of having adverse impacts, health-wise, from smoke—you kind of max out on that scale.”
Did B.C.’s travel ban impact Whistler tourism?
Fortunately for Whistler, a weekend of suboptimal air quality represents the worst impact the resort has dealt with so far during what has turned into Canada’s worst-ever wildfire season—especially compared to the devastation experienced in other regions, like the Okanagan and the Shuswap, this August.
Last week, the BC Wildfire Service predicted a cold front sweeping across the province on Aug. 17 would worsen fire conditions after a long stretch of hot, dry weather. That’s exactly what happened, only the result appeared to be even worse than officials expected.
On Saturday, Aug. 19, B.C. imposed a travel ban restricting non-essential visits to the central Interior and southeast B.C., in order to free up space in temporary accommodations like hotels, motels and campgrounds for the more than 30,000 British Columbians who were evacuated, as well as personnel providing emergency and critical services to fire suppression efforts over the weekend. It did not apply to the Sea to Sky corridor. (That ban was lifted at midnight on Tuesday, though non-essential travel to West Kelowna remained off-limits. Officials still urged people to avoid the Lake Country and Shuswap regions.)
“Whistler has not been directly impacted by the recent devastating wildfires, but our hearts go out to the communities in southern, central, and northern B.C. who have been impacted, including closer-to-home Bridge River Valley,” said Tourism Whistler president and CEO Barrett Fisher.
Asked how the wildfire conditions and Interior travel ban affected visitation over the weekend, Fisher explained, “With the provincial government declaring a state of emergency, along with heightened global media attention, Whistler has received a number of inquiries from visitors, but we are not aware of any cancellations to date.”
Tourism Whistler continues “to welcome guests to Whistler, but are simultaneously sending our sincere best wishes for a speedy recovery to those impacted communities across B.C.,” she added.
In response to deteriorating air-quality levels, Fisher said Tourism Whistler’s team “encouraged guests to consider more indoor and moderate-exertion outdoor activities” over the weekend, before the smoke dissipated early this week.
How did Whistler’s air quality this weekend compare to past years?
Still, the smoke that settled into the valley last weekend wasn’t even close to the worst smoke event Whistler has experienced in recent history.
Looking back at historical data from a weather station at Whistler’s Meadow Park, “July of 2015 actually pops up as having recorded higher PM2.5 values,” Charbonneau explained, referencing the measurement used to indicate how much fine particulate matter is present in wildfire smoke.
“During that event, on July 7, there was a maximum value of 554.2 micrograms per metre cubed, of PM2.5 which was measured,” Charbonneau said.
“With this past event over the weekend, we were seeing around 108 micrograms per metre cubed at that same station.”
In early July 2015, crews were battling several large blazes near Pemberton, while temperature inversions kept a thick blanket of smoke emanating from those fires trapped over the resort.
“That, to me, jumps out as perhaps one of the most severe [smoke] events that at least I can see on our data,” Charbonneau added. “I don’t actually see any others, where [the PM2.5] is really close to that.”
With clear skies over Whistler on Tuesday, Aug. 22, combined with the cooler temperatures and rain in the forecast for the following Wednesday, could the Sea to Sky expect to stay smoke-free for the foreseeable future?
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Charbonneau cautioned.
As long as those fires are still burning, “anytime we see a change in the direction of the winds, there’s the potential that we might start to see smoke coming back towards Whistler, Sea to Sky, Lower Mainland,” she said in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 22.
“As long as those fires are around, we can’t really count ourselves clear of the smoke, and it does look like we may have a return of some smoke later this week and into the weekend,” Charbonneau said. “Just how bad it will be, that’s what we don’t know at this point.”
As of Wednesday, Whistler’s fire danger rating was listed as “extreme.” Report all fires in Whistler immediately by dialing 911. Call the BC Wildfire Service at 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 to report fires outside of Whistler.
