B.C. Environment, in collaboration with Northern Health, issued a wildfire smoke advisory for Prince George on Friday.
There had already been a normal air quality air advisory in place on Thursday.
The fine particulate levels, due mainly to forest fires south of Prince George, hit very high levels on Friday. For particles 10 microns or smaller, commonly referred to as PM10, the 50 micrograms per cubic metre 24-hour rolling average provincial objective was exceeded Friday afternoon downtown (64), in College Heights (71) and at the BCR industrial site (82). The provincial objective of 25 micrograms per cubic metres for the smaller PM2.5 was also exceeded downtown (53) and in College Heights (65).
B.C. Environment is warning the public to avoid strenuous outdoor activity during the advisory, expected to be in place until today.
For more, see the Citizen.