Air Quality In Yellowknife, NWT "Off The Charts" Bad, Thanks To Massive Forest Fires - CBC

[hatrack]

http://i.cbc.ca/1.2726723.1407162907!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/image.jpg

Smoke from a forest fire burning 30 kilometres away from the city seeped into Yellowknife again this weekend, forcing Environment Canada to issue a special air quality statement for both Saturday and Sunday.

Environment Canada has an air-quality index that measures the particulates — or pollution, like dust — in the air. It has a scale from one, when there's a low risk that the air quality will affect someone's health, to 10, which is considered a high health risk. The index also has a "+10" category, which indicates quite literally when a region's air quality is off the charts.

That was the case for the Yellowknife region this weekend. Saturday morning, air quality was only at two, but by 1 p.m. the index had shot up to 18. On Sunday, Environment Canada had originally predicted it to get even worse, reaching a maximum of 21. But as of 6 a.m. MT, it says it will get to about 14.

The last time air quality was that bad in the region was two weeks ago. Heavy smoke blanketed the city Saturday and Sunday, clouding views across Great Slave Lake during the Old Town Ramble & Ride festival.

EDIT

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/air-quality-in-yellowknife-very-high-risk-1.2726260

[cilla4progress]

1. Air quality in central Washington state horrible due to forest fires, also.

2 years ago we had off the chart air quality here. Now again this year. It's starting to feel uninhabitable.

Not to mention the huge losses due to the fires themselves!

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. That fire is particularly bad from what I can read.

Been burning a long time...do they have enough men and equipment to fight it?

[cilla4progress]

3. Yes

Men AND women. Air, ground crews, anything they can throw at it.