VANCOUVER—The year has been off to a calamitous start, and a devastating wildfire season might be the last thing people want to think about during the coronavirus pandemic, but experts say smoke from wildfires could make things worse.

Although heavily-forested British Columbia saw relatively mild wildfires last year, both 2017 and 2018 were record-breaking seasons where raging infernos burned an astonishing 2.6 million hectares in total.

And last year, Alberta suffered one of its worst wildfire seasons in history, forcing thousands to evacuate.

Wildfire smoke contains tiny particulates known as PM2.5 that can embed deep into lungs and lead to a host of negative health effects, according to the World Health Organization.

“Deterioration in air quality may lead to more COVID-19 infections overall ... (and) more cases of severe COVID-19 infections and add further demand to our health care system,” according to a March 26 advisory from B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

The advisory also announced new restrictions on open burning in high smoke sensitivity zones across the province until April 15, 2020.

As spring begins, a group of University of British Columbia researchers want to help raise awareness about the likely links between air pollution and the novel coronavirus.

“Everyone should start preparing for wildfire smoke events to ensure that we are ready should the pandemic still be raging when the fire season begins,” the group said in a statement on Monday.

“A lot of previous research has linked respiratory illnesses to air pollution,” said Professor Michael Brauer, of the School of Population and Public Health, one of the co-authors of the statement.

“Infections are caused by virus and bacteria, but we know that when people are exposed to air pollution, those infections become more severe.”

Brauer referred to Chinese researchers’ findings that air pollution was “significantly associated” with the SARS outbreak in 2003. SARS and COVID-19 are both respiratory illnesses.

Many studies have shown that respiratory health effects of air pollution include increased mortality, increased asthma attacks, wheezing, chest tightness and irritation of the eye, nose and throat.

The clear blue skies people are seeing now as a result of decreased road traffic and manufacturing might provide a comforting sense that clean air is a silver lining of COVID-19, Brauer told the Star in a telephone interview.

“Actually, there’s been days of air quality advisories in interior B.C. because of wind picking up dust … and there have already been some fires in Alberta,” he said. Alberta’s provincial government had announced on March 2 that the wildfire season was already underway.

Poor air quality affects everyone, Brauer said, but groups such as children, elderly people, pregnant women and those with conditions like asthma are particularly vulnerable, even when COVID-19 isn’t a factor.

But there is no need to panic.

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“People can prepare by being extra careful about not getting infected with coronavirus, and make sure they have adequate medication, including inhalers if needed. Home air purifier machines are quite effective in filtering wildfire smoke,” he said.

The pandemic has not affected the number of firefighters and staff the B.C. Wildfire Service will be hiring, but trainings for new recruits for the 2020 fire season is taking place in small groups instead of the usual boot camp. Between 150 and 200 candidates are typically invited to one of three one-week-long boot camps in mid-April, according to the B.C. government.

“The B.C. Wildfire Service continues to prepare for the upcoming wildfire seasons. In response to COVID-19, we are developing protocols related to physical distancing and other precautions to support crews while they respond to wildfires,” spokesperson Jody Lucius said.

When asked whether firefighters will avoid controlled burns to clear brush as a wildfire risk mitigation strategy, Lucius said the B.C. Wildfire Service is monitoring the COVID-19 situation to determine whether it could have an impact on prescribed burning.

Wildfire activity is currently very low, Lucius said, and a forecast for the severity of the wildfire season in western Canada is not yet available.

Joanna Chiu is a Vancouver-based reporter covering both Canada-China relations and current affairs on the West Coast for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @joannachiu

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