Early Morning Mystery: Pitch Black at 9:45am in BC

[George Jones]

It is 9:45 am in my city in British Columbia, and it is pitch black. All the streetlights are on!

 

[Doc Al]

Uh oh...

I hope you're safe, George!

 

[Wrichik Basu]

It is 9:45 am in my city in British Columbia, and it is pitch black. All the streetlights are on!

That's a dangerous case. Here in India, our capital New Delhi faced this last year during the winter. The smog was too much, and holiday was declared in all offices and schools.

Be careful.

 

[phinds]

It is 9:45 am in my city in British Columbia, and it is pitch black. All the streetlights are on!

This is from the California wildfires or something else?

 

[George Jones]

Uh oh...

I hope you're safe, George!

That's a dangerous case. Here in India, our capital New Delhi faced this last year during the winter. The smog was too much, and holiday was declared in all offices and schools.

Be careful.

This is from the California wildfires or something else?

My province is full of forest fires, but I am not in any danger, except breathing is not good. My 12-year-old-daughter was supposed to go to a day-camp at which she would have been outside for 7 hours, but we kept her home (as did some other parents).

Brighter now, but still extremely smokey.

Here is is a map of the fires in my province. I am in Prince George, which is on the map.

http://google.org/crisismap/google.com/2018-british-columbia-wildfires

 

[phinds]

Good grief! Looks like you guys are getting hit just as hard as California.

 

[nuuskur]

We had a diet coke version of that last year during the wildfires in Portugal. A giant blanket of ..smoke thing .. flew over Europe. The sky suddenly turned dark greenish, it was weird. Your situation sounds leagues worse, hope it'll clear up soon.

 

[George Jones]

Good grief! Looks like you guys are getting hit just as hard as California.

We had a diet coke version of that last year during the wildfires in Portugal. A giant blanket of ..smoke thing .. flew over Europe. The sky suddenly turned dark greenish, it was weird. Your situation sounds leagues worse, hope it'll clear up soon.

Luckily, my province is not as densely populated as Europe or California.

A work email that I just received:

As you are all aware the region was recently covered by smoke which eliminated daylight and reduced visibility for a period of time.

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of very small inhalable particles and gases. The amount and makeup of smoke changes from fire to fire and as the smoke gets older. This variability means that there is a variety of health effects that range from nose, throat and eye irritation to more serious symptoms like difficulty breathing and worsening of heart and lung conditions like COPD or asthma.

As per Northern Health this is how you can reduce your exposure:
· Stay indoors, keep doors and windows closed, use HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) or EP (electrostatic precipitation) air cleaners if available
· Reduce time spent outdoors
· Avoid rigorous outdoor activities
· When driving in your vehicle keep windows and doors closed with your air conditioner set to re-circulate
· People with asthma or other chronic illness should activate any care plans prepared by their medical practitioner
· Drink plenty of water
· Visit locations that have a large volume of air that is air conditioned and filters the air (shopping malls, schools, public libraries etc.)

N95 respirators are the only masks that effectively reduce your exposure to fine particles, gases and pollutants but these types of mask require a proper ‘fit test’ before being used. Simple dust masks are unlikely to provide any reduction in exposure.

The air conditioners at UNBC bring in outside air which is then run through filters to remove particulates such as bugs, pollen and ash. The buildings are pressurized which means that when doors or windows are opened they do not let outside air in, the air from inside escapes through them. Unfortunately those filters cannot do anything for the smell.

 

[Astronuc]

Washington state (US) is having some poor to very unhealthy air quality because of the smoke.
https://ecology.wa.gov/Air-Climate/Air-quality/Smoke-fire/Wildfires

Spokane area and border of Washington-Idaho has hazardous air quality.

I had to wear a filter mask to while cycling today. Visibility was 1 to 2 miles.

 

[George Jones]

It is 9:45 am in my city in British Columbia, and it is pitch black. All the streetlights are on!

The first 30 seconds of this video show the dramatic daytime darkness that my city experienced last Friday.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1301589059619/

 

[phinds]