Outdoor sporting events scheduled for St. Albert this weekend are still on despite the smoky conditions that have plagued the atmosphere for the last two days.
Officials overseeing soccer, rugby and minor football all said they planned to follow through with scheduled games this weekend.
On Friday, the air quality rating for the Capital region went from poor to fair then back to poor as smoke from B.C.’s forest fires continued to blanket the sky. Even so, the St. Albert Soccer Association is still set to host its adult recreational tournament, with games starting Friday night.
The club has alerted referees to watch for signs of distress and to provide more frequent water breaks, said association executive director Melody Martyn.
“I hear it might rain tomorrow and that would fix everything,” she said. “I’ve never hoped for rain before for a tournament but today I’m going to.”
Environment Canada’s website was calling for 60 per cent chance of rain Friday night and 70 per cent for Sunday, but nothing for Saturday.
The St. Albert Rugby Club will host an Alberta premier men’s match at 3 p.m. Saturday. Officials with both the St. Albert and Edmonton clubs said that action will proceed as scheduled.
“Unless Health Canada comes out with something that says ‘everybody stay indoors,’ we’re going to be playing them,” said Carmen Maday, facility manager with the Edmonton Rugby Union.
There were no plans to cancel the four minor football games scheduled for Alpine field on Saturday, said Kyle Porter, president of the St. Albert Minor Football Association.
“Right now we’re still a go,” he said.
Thursday brought a 20 per cent increase in respiratory cases in Edmonton-area emergency rooms, said Alberta Health Services spokesman Kerry Williamson. The overall volume was normal so resources weren’t stressed any more than usual, he said.
“Activity was significantly quieter on Friday,” he said.
Thursday’s smoky conditions prompted a number of calls to the St. Albert Fire Department but these had stopped by Friday, said fire Chief Ray Richards.
On Thursday the department received three emergency calls for fires that didn’t exist and also fielded many inquiries about the smoky conditions, Richards said.
“It’s not uncommon for Northern Alberta fires, even B.C. fires, with the right wind conditions it can end up here,” Richards said. “It can trick you in the sense that if you look out into the trees you might think it’s coming from there.”
The department didn’t dispatch any fire crews for the calls it received, as it was able to determine there was no actual fire by having residents describe the conditions they were seeing, Richards said.
The smoky air prompted the province to issue an air quality advisory across Alberta Thursday morning, advising Albertans to take precautions against potential health risks associated with deteriorating air quality.
“I strongly advise people with asthma, bronchitis or emphysema to remain indoors, keep their windows closed and take any preventative measures their physicians have previously recommended,” said Dr. AndrĂ© Corriveau, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, in a press release.
“Healthy people should also avoid strenuous physical activity outdoors while the local air quality is bad. Anyone who experiences difficulty breathing should consult their physician.”
Smoke and fine particulate matter in the air can be absorbed deep into an individual's lungs where it can aggravate existing health conditions. People with respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, or cardiovascular conditions such as angina, previous heart attack and congestive heart failure may be most affected.
Smoke is expected to affect air quality in Alberta at least until Sunday, according to Bluesky, a smoke forecasting system used by Alberta and British Columbia. The smoke tracking system can be viewed online at www.bcairquality.com/bluesky.
The province will continue to monitor the air quality throughout Alberta. Current air quality and the Air Quality Index (AQI) can be accessed at Alberta Environment’s website at www.environment.alberta.ca/index.html, by clicking on Current Air Quality (Quick Links) or by calling 1-877-247-7333.
Residents can contact Health Link Alberta to speak to a registered nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week, toll-free at 1-866-408-LINK (5465).
