Smoked in: A look back at B.C.'s haziest wildfire seasons over the past 20 years

Trying to findthe sun through the haze. Walking outside to the sharpsmell of campfire and the dry taste of ash. Sitting stuck inside with a feeling of unease,the grey having brought on the blues.

British Columbians have got used to smoky skies in recent years, with wildfires and the resulting haze becomingpart of a normal summer in a province where the warming climate is marked by longer, more intensefire seasons.

The smoke has caused air quality to rise to dangerously unhealthy levels dozens of times over the past two decades,especially in B.C.'s Interior.

These photos are a look back at some of the lengthiest,most memorable wildfire smoke events B.C. has seen since the turn of the century.

2003

From the Archives: Smoke from wildfires in 2003 blankets B.C.'s Okanagan

4 years ago

Duration 2:11

The Okanagan Mountain Park forest fire in 2003 destroyed more than 230 homes, caused $200 million in damage and spewed thick smoke into the Okanagan air.

The summer of 2003 is easilyrecognized as one of the worst wildfire seasons the province hasever seen, in terms of both the fires themselves and also the harm to people and property.The Okanagan Mountain Park forest fire, alone, destroyed more than 230 homes in the Kelowna area and caused $200 million in damage.

Thefiresspewed thick smoke into the air over the southern Interiorfor days.The skies glowed orange at night as light from the flames reflected off the plumes.

Kamloops and Cranbrook had the most days with reduced visibility that year, according to Environment Canada, withabout four each. Little of the haze reached the Lower Mainland.

The following year was also a terrible one for communities in B.C.'s far north and into Yukon. The Yukon communities of Whitehorse, Old Crow and Mayo saw up to 16 days of smoke in 2004 from wildfires burning in B.C.

2010

From the Archives: Smoke chokes B.C. communities for weeks in 2010 wildfire season

4 years ago

Duration 2:04

Conditions in Williams Lake, B.C., and the surrounding areas were dangerously bad in 2010 as a result of the Binta Lake Wildfire. Around 130 people from the Tl'etinqox-t'in First Nation left their community to escape the haze.

Conditions in Williams Lake,Prince George, Quesneland surrounding areas were dangerously badin 2010 as a result of the Binta Lake Wildfire. The blaze, southeast of Burns Lake, burned 400 square kilometresand resulted in evacuation orders and alerts in several communities.

Air pollutant levels are measured in B.C. in micrograms per cubic metre (g/m3). The acceptable limit is around 25 g/m3for a 24-hour period.

Levels in Williams Lake were about 12times higher in 2010 the city haddays with300 micrograms g/m3.

Environment Canada said visibility was reduced for more than 10 days. There were a few days of reprieve between smoke episodes that summer, though, which hasn't been the case in more recent years.

Around 130 people fromthe Tl'etinqox-t'in First Nationmostly elders, children and people with pre-existing health conditions left their community, trying to find clearer air to breathe.Chief Joe Alphonse described the smokeas "a major, major crisis."

2017

From the Archives: Wildfire smoke sets record for hazy days in Kamloops, B.C.

4 years ago

Duration 0:57

The wildfire season of 2017 was, at the time, the worst in provincial history. Kamloops set a new record for the most hours spent with low visibility that summer, according to Environment Canada, with 18 smoky days.

The wildfire season of 2017 was, at the time, the worst in provincial history.

A haze fell overthe Lower Mainland as winds carriedsmoke from the wildfires in the B.C. Interior to the coast. Environment Canada issued a number of special air quality and weather advisoriesfor Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Sunshine Coast and eastern Vancouver Island as the smoke and a heat wave created serious health risks.

Kamloops set a new record for the most hours spent with low visibility in 2017, the agency said,with 18 smoky days. The air quality reachedan extreme 18 out of 10 rating on the Air Quality Health Index.

Williams Lake and Penticton weren't far behind with 14 days, while Abbotsford had 10 days.

An enormous plume ofsmoke visible from space in 2017 also formed the largest cloud of its kind ever observed, according to a 2019 study. Researchers found the cloud, called a pyrocumulonimbus, was big enough to circlethe northern hemisphere.

2018

From the Archives: Smoke fouls air quality in B.C. for weeks on end

4 years ago

Duration 0:52

Smoke choked B.C. in the summer of 2018, compounded by additional plumes drifting north from similar fires in Washington state. The Lower Mainland was stuck under health advisories for 22 days in a row, and cities from Vancouver Island to the Kootenays had poor air quality.

The B.C. wildfire season in 2018 eclipsed the previous year's as the worst recorded in provincial history. Smoke choked the province again that summer, compounded by additional plumes drifting northfrom similar fires in Washington state.

The Lower Mainland was stuck under health advisories for 22 days in a row. Flights at several airports in theInterior and West Kootenay regions were cancelled because pilots couldn't see. As was largely the case in2017, only B.C.'snorth and part of the western coast were spared.

Penticton, Williams Lake, Cranbrook, Victoria, Fort Nelson, Fort St. John and Abbotsford had the most days with poorvisibility, ranging from 15 days for Pentictonto six for Abbotsford.

The thick smoke also createdair-quality problems for much of Alberta, Saskatchewan andsouthwestern Manitoba, as winds drove the hazeeastward. The smoke evenreached Atlantic Canada and as far as Ireland, The Canadian Press reported.

2020

Smoke from U.S. wildfires drifts north to B.C.

4 years ago

Duration 0:49

Smoke from wildfires raging in a number of United States drifted north to B.C. in September 2020, blanketing the Canadian province in a grey haze.

The data for the smoke event in 2020 is, of course, incomplete as wildfires in the west coast states ofthe U.S. continue to rage. So far, preliminary data shows Victoria has been most affected since smoke from Washington state and Oregondrifted north. Visibility has been affected for six days, as of Tuesday.

Meteorologists saidB.C.'smost recent bout with the smoke is different than previous years for tworeasons: first,the smoke has arrived later than usual. Smoke usually stops in B.C. over the month of September as fall weather patterns rollin, bringing cooler temperatures and rainy Pacific storms.

Second, the smoke in B.C. is not from its ownfires.

"This has been primarily a U.S.-dominated wildfire season," said Armel Castellan, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada."That's the big difference."

Note: The "days of smoke" figures included in this story are from Environment Canada measurements of the number of hours in a summer day with low visibility meaning hours during whichit was difficult to see more than 9.7 kilometres in the distance. Days where it was smoky, but still easier to see, mightnot be included in the data.