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Capital region welcomes improved air quality, lower fire risk

Someone takes in the view from the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa during the 2023 Victoria Day long weekend. Blue skies have returned to the capital Thursday, at least temporarily. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press - image credit)
Someone takes in the view from the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa during the 2023 Victoria Day long weekend. Blue skies have returned to the capital Thursday, at least temporarily. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press - image credit)

People in the Ottawa-Gatineau region awoke Thursday to skies clear of smoke and a decreased (but still high) risk of fire — a better situation than west of the capital.

Forest fires burning in and around the area sent air pollution off the charts Tuesday and Wednesday in local cities, leading schools, sports organizations and more to make changes to minimize people's time outside.

As of Thursday at noon there are low levels of air pollution, and they're expected to remain low to moderate, in Cornwall, Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville and Gatineau.

A low pressure system to the north of the capital is pushing smoke further west, said Monica Vaswani, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, in a Thursday morning interview.

A return to high-risk levels is not anticipated.

"More likely than not, the [low] you're currently expecting for Thursday may last you well into Friday and even Saturday," Vaswani said.

The early forecast is that smoke may return Saturday night or Sunday, she said.

The general public has no need to change outdoor plans when the risk is moderate, according to Environment Canada, unless they start experiencing respiratory symptoms.

People at risk of serious health problems from pollution — including seniors, young children and pregnant people — should consider less time exerting themselves outside if they're feeling effects of pollution.

Low-risk air quality is considered normal, Vaswani said, and doesn't require any changes.

Special air quality statements remain west of the capital in places such as Belleville, Deep River, Kingston and the Pontiac.

Eastern Ontario's fires being held

When it comes to the fires themselves, five of them are still burning in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

Unlike Wednesday morning, the three in eastern Ontario are no longer considered not under control by the province: one around Centennial Lake in the Township of Greater Madawaska and one in Algonquin Park west of Petawawa are being held, while a second fire nearby in the park is under control.

The risk of fire in areas of eastern Ontario analyzed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has dropped from extreme to high.

The two fires in the Pontiac — one northwest of Gracefield, the other north of Fort-Coulonge — are still considered by Quebec to be out of control, but the fire risk in that region has dropped from extreme to very high.

Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg is preparing for a possible evacuation. People evacuated from other Algonquin communities have been sent to Maniwaki, Gatineau and Ottawa, and may not be able to return home until next week.

Smoke is also coming from fires further north in what's been a worse fire season than normal.

The province has a fire ban in place for Renfrew County. Ottawa, which isn't in one of these Ontario fire regions, has its own ban, as does Kingston and many other municipalities. Quebec has restricted access to some forests and parks.

Raphael Tremblay/Radio-Canada
Raphael Tremblay/Radio-Canada

Some areas along the Ottawa River were flooded a month ago after one of the snowiest local winters on record.

Ottawa's international airport has only recorded about 25 millimetres of rain in the last month, along with record heat — though it didn't record the rain that fell closer to downtown Wednesday evening.

Human activity is driving climate change that is leading to more extreme weather.