UPDATE: since the story was initially published on Monday Aug. 21, the air quality advisory has been pulled for the Metro Vancouver area, and the emergency order regarding non-essential travel has been lifted, except for West Kelowna.

New West’s mayor has confirmed to New West Anchor the city has sent resources to the fires burning in Kelowna.

He announced the deployment of resources from New West Fire and Rescue Services last Friday over X (formerly Twitter).

“It’s going to be an intense next few days, and our thoughts are with people under threat and facing displacement,” noted Johnstone over the social media site.

“In short, we have two chiefs, four crews, and an emergency support services staff member deployed to [the] Kelowna area with two pieces of equipment,” Johnstone told The Anchor in text messages.

When asked whether the city would be able to balance its needs with the needs of those impacted by wildfires, Johnstone pointed to procedures in place to ensure day-to-day requirements in New West would be sustained.

“Provincial Emergency Services submit requests to meet their needs, and the Chief assesses what resources we can share, first assuring we can maintain adequate staffing and coverage locally,” he explained. “The Mayor is required to formally approve any deployment of [NWFRS] to areas outside of the city.”

Additionally, Johnstone pointed out that there were other municipalities sending help. “At a time like this, the [fire departments] across the province work together to put the resources where they are needed the most.”

Haze for days

As the smoke lingered for a few days around Metro Vancouver—including in New Westminster—places like the Shuswap and West Kelowna have been saddled with far worse air quality. BC’s wildfire situation also prompted a State of Emergency from the BC Government, issued last Friday.

People were not initially able to travel for non-essential reasons to certain parts of the province, with spaces like hotels being earmarked for those who were forced to evacuate.

“On August 19, 2023, the Province of B.C. issued an Emergency Order restricting non-essential use of temporary accommodations, including hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, hostels, RV parks, and campgrounds,” notes the BC Government, which went on to list the following areas:

• Kelowna & West Kelowna

• Kamloops

• Oliver

• Osoyoos

• Penticton

• Vernon

Currently the restriction only stands for West Kelowna.

Closer to home, folks in New Westminster are being asked to take precautions with an air quality advisory ongoing for the region.

“[The advisory] has been issued for Metro Vancouver due to elevated levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from BC wildfire smoke,” reads a post over X from Vancouver Coastal Health.

“Wildfire smoke may cause more severe symptoms in vulnerable populations. Seek out medical attention if you are experiencing shortness of breath, severe cough, dizziness, chest pain or heart palpitations,” the Fraser Health Authority shared on its X account on Sunday.

Right now, rain isn’t expected in the Metro Vancouver forecast until next week.

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