BRITISH COLUMBIA FOREST FIRES POLLUTE ALBERTA'S AIR
Mike Priaro, P.Eng.
First uploaded September 21, 2017
We ran our furnace fan often this unusually warm summer, with all windows open to circulate cool air through the house each morning, but only when the air quality was good.
On replacing the high-efficiency furnace air filter on schedule I was appalled at the amount of dark grey material on the filter – unlike any time in the past.
I wondered if the lungs of 1.2 million Calgarians, and three million other Albertans, looked the same.
According to one tally reported by the Calgary Herald, this summer Calgary experienced 321 hours of smoke – far above normal. I’m guessing the health effects for some will surface in due course – if they have not already!
Surely there is liability on the part of the B.C. government for forest mismanagement due to lack of mountain pine beetle control, failure to log those dead trees which are standing, resin-soaked kindling, lack of prescribed burns, lack of fire breaks, lack of deadfall clean-up, lack of pro-active logging, not enough fire lookout towers, lack of adequate rapid response and fire-fighting resources, etc.
And while British Columbians expressed concern, with some justification, about possible bitumen spills in their waters, B.C.'s main resource, its forests, polluted the very air Albertans breathed.
Mike Priaro, P.Eng.
Calgary
403-281-2156
