Get ready for longer wildfire smoke seasons, experts say

Thankfully, the massive plumes of smoke across much of the province are expected to dissipate Friday, but is it a sign of things to come?

Climate change has caused extraordinary weather patterns this year that have seen wildfires burn into October and prompted officials to issue health warnings.

“To see fires burning on the landscape, not only in B.C. but in Washington, and the associated smoke persist well into the middle of October, is extremely unusual,” Matt MacDonald, Lead Fire Weather Forecaster with the BC Wildfire Service, told Kelowna10.

“I think it’s a really fair bet we can expect these ‘smoke seasons’ if you will, to extend well into the latter half of September and in this case, right into October.

MacDonald said the effects of climate change have their fingerprints all over this wildfire season, given the lack of precipitation, above normal temperatures, and low relative humidity.

He said over the past four weeks, all those factors have been in place, with a resilient ridge of high pressure that has been stagnant over the western part of North America.

“We’ve had our driest first half of October on record across the Okanagan and Southern BC… and this has allowed the fires to continue burning.

“This is just a teaser of what’s to happen more frequently as we move ahead in a changing climate. There’s been many studies that have shown a higher frequency of these ‘blocking’ weather patterns. [That] means instead of seeing a regular transition from unsettled to dry weather … we get stuck under a persistent regime for a lot longer.”

While this week’s smoke has been more severe in the Lower Mainland, where measurements were in the extreme plus-10 range on the Air Quality Index, Kelowna has still been looking more like a wildfire summer’s day than one in the second half of October.

The Kelowna area was sitting around 5, which is considered a ‘moderate risk,' and where the public are advised to consider reducing or rescheduling strenuous activities outdoors if you are experiencing symptoms.

The skies were expected to start clearing Friday, when the index will hover around the 3 mark, before possible wet weather arrives.

But for MacDonald, it’s time for us to think about the long term health realities that a prolonged smoke season will bring.

“People should start thinking about air purifiers, about what they’re going to do with their children, their elderly, when it’s actually not safe to be outside,” he said.

As one measure he’s already implemented with his own family MacDonald has made the conscious choice of booking camping and outdoor recreation trips earlier in the season, long before the worst of the summer wildfire air.