PGAQ #14 (FP) by Vic Steblin, Feb 19, 2008

2570 Laurier Crescent, Prince George, BC, 250-564-1123

The flat wispy clouds looked beautiful in the morning sun as I drove west on 15th Avenue until I realized they were smoke. Driving up the UNBC hill got me above the pollution into a clear blue sky and showed me the hazy mess that I had been sleeping in. One could not see buildings in the bowl from the hilltop.

Continuing the drive towards College Heights gave another shock. The sun soon disappeared into the smoke from the south side of town. The smoke had just been wrapped around the hill in a continuous layer filling the low areas. What can a resident do? We soon get used to smoke and just live with it. We still claim that Prince George is a wonderful place to work and raise a family.

The Provincial Health Officer’s Annual Reports show that Prince George consistently has the worst PM2.5 record in the province. It further reports that the two best solutions for health are to stop smoking as individuals and to stop burning wood.

I cannot imagine that the smokers in our city produce the amount of smoke that fills our river valley. It must be the wood burning. If you burn wood please stop. Also start complaining about the mills that burn wood.