When the smoke gets in your eyes
Chief public health officer outlines hazards of forest fire season
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 14, 2014
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
There are many impacts of forest fires - closed roads, scorched earth and threatened communities that may be unlucky enough to be in the path of a blaze.
Rayne Wetrade watches smoke billowing from a forest fire near Gameti on July 7. - photo courtesy of Jenn Wetrade |
But the most far-reaching impact - and one of the most dangerous - is smoke.
For much of this forest fire season, large sections of the NWT have been covered with smoke from numerous forest fires.
Dr. Andre Corriveau, the chief public health officer with the Department of Health and Social Services, said people can be seriously affected by smoke.
"It depends a lot on the intensity of the smoke and the duration, and also there's different levels of susceptibility to the impacts of smoke," he said.
Corriveau explained there are microscopic particles of ash in smoke. While those particles are not visible to the eye, they cause irritation that a person feels in the eyes or in the throat because those particles bump onto mucosa, he said.
"They set up a little reaction - a little bit of swelling and body reaction. So the same thing happens in the lining of the lungs and all the way to the alveoli, and that swelling, even though it's microscopic as it accumulates, can impact the amount of air exchange that takes place inside the lungs."
Corriveau said such smoke irritation doesn't make a big difference for a healthy person.
Corriveau noted he has recently talked to some people with asthma in areas experiencing heavy smoke.
"Many of them have had to increase their medications, or their symptoms have worsened," he said.
People can minimize exposure to the smoke by closing windows to limit how much outdoor air comes indoors.
"But that only works for a time because, if it lasts for more than several hours, the air quality inside the home will be affected," said Corriveau. Aside from health advice, there are also ways for people to be safer while driving on smoky highways.
"We're asking the motoring public to use extreme caution when travelling in these smoky conditions," said Sgt. Barry Ledoux, the public information officer with the RCMP's 'G' Division in Yellowknife.
Ledoux also advised drivers to turn on headlights.
"With today's new vehicles, the majority of them have daylight running lights, which is great, but that doesn't turn on your taillights, and when you start getting into situations with limited visibility, taillights are important," he said. "We ask that people manually turn on the lights for their motor vehicles."
