This year has been pretty good, as far as it goes for wildfires and smoke haze in B.C. 

A cool, wet May and early June kept the worst of the fires at bay in the early part of summer.

But even a 鈥渕ild鈥� year for fires now means that multiple structures have been destroyed, and several communities have faced or are facing evacuation orders. We鈥檝e completely revamped our idea of what a 鈥済ood year鈥� for wildfires looks like, and it鈥檚 good if we don鈥檛 lose a whole town, or if the area burned is less catastrophic.

For those of us in the Lower Mainland, fire is less of a risk than the intense air pollution that can arrive from fires in Western Canada or the United States.

In addition to that, we鈥檝e had air quality alerts already from Metro Vancouver due to simple smog 鈥� hot air and pollution from cars, trucks, and industry can create an ozone-heavy haze that鈥檚 not good for our lungs.

For some people, this is a major issue. People with asthma and other heart and lung issues, and the elderly are at higher risk. 
But all of us should take the health of our lungs seriously. 

When there鈥檚 a yellow-orange haze in the sky, and air quality warnings are active, follow advice 鈥� no strenuous exercise outdoors, stay cool, and drink plenty of water. If you have chest discomfort or are short of breath, seek medical help.

Check on your friends, family, and neighbours when the skies are orange.

That鈥檚 short-term advice, of course.

Over the long term, we have to tackle these issues in other ways.

The good news is, we鈥檙e already a significant way along the path to permanently cleaner air.

B.C. already gets most of its energy from hydro power, which means we don鈥檛 have to shut down any coal-fired power plants. (The last coal-fired plant in Alberta recently shut down for good.)

Electric vehicles are displacing more and more internal combustion engines, meaning fewer sources of smog on the roads.

For cleaner air locally, we have to continue those efforts, and eventually, reduce our use of natural gas as well.

We鈥檒l also have to get better at fighting and preventing wildfires. The biggest beneficiary will be people whose homes are saved, but our lungs will thank us, too.