Sept 18 - Forest fires, not Mount St. Helens, the cause of ash in Victoria

Good morning !

If you’ve noticed ash falling from the sky, don’t be alarmed—it’s coming from far away. As BC’s wildfire season (as well as Washington state’s) rages on, the smoke and ash continue to blow toward us. It doesn’t appear to be affecting air quality and smoke isn’t in the forecast for the next few days.

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 7 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: ☀️ 22 / 11

Tomorrow: ⛅ 23 / 13

Day after: 🌦️ 21 / 14

7-day forecast

NEWS

That little mess on your car was not from Mount St. Helens

Many Victorians noticed a light dusting of ash on their vehicles yesterday morning and had good reason to suspect it was wind-swept sprinklings from Mount St. Helens—but it wasn’t.

A day earlier, on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) put out a notice that “winds in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens have picked up loose volcanic ash deposited during the 1980 eruptions and are carrying it to the west-northwest.”

The USGS said the dust cloud of resuspended volcanic ash was only about 10K feet high and extended about 15 miles (24 km), so they knew that wind-blown volcanic ash did not make it this far north.

Satellite data showed the source of the deposits—a strong smoke plume headed north into BC from the Bear Gulch wildfire west of Seattle, which burned more aggressively in Tuesday’s strong winds, the USGS said.

Resuspended ash has been reported by commercial pilots in the area, the USGS said, while stressing this phenomenon occasionally occurs during times of high winds and dry, snow-free conditions in the Mount St. Helens area.

“Resuspended volcanic ash should be considered hazardous and could be damaging to aircraft and health,” the USGS said.

Ash that falls from an eruption can stay on the ground for decades, says Dov Bensimon, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada and manager of the Montréal Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. 

He points to the Alaskan volcano Novarupta, about 470 km southwest of Anchorage, that blew more than a century ago.

“Ash from that 1912 eruption, still to this day, gets resuspended every now and again under the right conditions, so it doesn't have to be an eruption that was in the last few weeks or months,” he tells Capital Daily. 

“It could be literally decades or even the last century.”

The USGS said there are noticeable differences between forest fire ash, which is usually black, grey, or brown, and in various shapes, including thin lines (burned evergreen needles) and leaf fragments. It will crumble in your hands. 

Volcanic ash is usually a uniform pale gray and feels more like extremely fine sand or flour, the USGS said.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Missing teen: Riley, 14, last seen in Metchosin last Friday.

Single-lane alternating traffic in Saanich:

• 4639 Blenkinsop between Miramar and Les Meadows today, 8:30am-3:30pm 

• Cedar Hill Cross between Lochside and Borden, 8am-4pm until Sept. 26 

• Helmcken between Santa Rosa and Burnside West today, 9am-3pm

Death cap mushrooms found in Oak Bay: Learn how to identify the deadly mushrooms. [Oak Bay] 

NEWS

The Island’s oil spill response to be faster with new Beecher Bay facility

If an oil spill happens near Vancouver Island, a new operation is ready to save the day.

The Norwegian-built K.J. Gardner recently was refitted with approximately $6M worth of spill response equipment

The new response hub also houses 10 other response vessels, a warehouse, and an office.

The facility and vessels have doubled Western Canada Marine Response Corporation’s (WCMRC) capacity and have cut the response time for South Island waters in half. Its location on the Westshore allows it to maintain a six-hour response time to any incidents happening in the strait’s shipping lanes. 

It can take on a spill of up to 20K tonnes of oil, with a combined skimming capacity (ability to lift oil from the water) of 61 tonnes an hour. It also created 20 new jobs in the region. To share in the excitement, the facility team welcomed 300+ people from the community to the site last week.

A report released this summer estimates that marine traffic on BC’s coast is set to double in the next 15 years as LNG and future pipeline projects are developed, increasing oil tanker traffic and potentially raising the risk of a spill in Island waters.

NEWS

Pre-construction on new PKOLS tower to begin Monday

Work crews are about to prepare PKOLS/Mount Doug for the installation of a new tower, with construction expected to begin early in the new year.

On Monday, Saanich workers will start work on a new staircase, which is expected to take eight weeks to complete. 

For safety purposes, some areas around the summit will be blocked off, the district said.

“Construction will result in a loss of two parking stalls and periodic closures of trail entrances/exits near the summit construction site while work is underway,” it said in a release. 

The summit has been closed for brief periods over the last two years as assessment work was done ahead of replacing the aging tower so it complies with new federal regulatory standards on emergency communications towers.

Saanich originally considered building a larger tower in the parking lot atop the mountain, which would have altered viewing spots and eliminated some parking.

After much back-and-forth with the public, it was decided a new tower would be built next to the existing one, even though that will force the downing of trees and a $500K increase in the cost to erect the new transmitter. 

That cost is expected to be absorbed by revenues from telecommunications companies that rent the tower’s use.   

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🧑‍🍳 Victoria chef vying for Top Chef Canada win: Nick Maharaj of Part and Parcel on Quadra will compete with other culinarians, including two more from BC. [Vancouver Sun]

🐦 Male golden-crowned kinglet shows off its vibrant colours on Gabriola Island. [Cliff LeSergent / Facebook]

🦉 The Rocky Point Bird Observatory (RPBO) Nocturnal Owl Monitoring Project, focuses on the banding and study of the Northern Saw-whet Owl. Discover more about this small owl, which is common yet seldom seen.*

📚 Ask a GVPL librarian: Let Librarian Leah know what you’re looking for in your next read, and she’ll suggest custom titles on Friday. [GVPL]

^{*Sponsored listing}

🗞️ In Other News

2 more Canada Post outlets in Greater Victoria are about to close
The post office within the Mint Pharmacy on Cordova Bay shut down on Aug. 20, and another on Cordova Bay, in the former Heart Pharmacy, closed last Wednesday. The postal outlet at 1595 Fairfield is slated to close next week, and one at 180 Wilson in Vic West will stop dealing with mail Oct. 28. Canada Post said it’s shuttering the venues—all in pharmacies—as a result of “a business review,” but at least one pharmacy owner says it’s more posturing than prudence. [Times Colonist] 

Dramatic video from up-Island shows the dangers of shoreline work
Crews from Port Alberni-based Roc-Star Enterprises Ltd. were working on a fish-habitat restoration project on Nitinat Lake, northwest of Port Renfrew, when a large, articulated truck positioned itself to place a load of logs. Suddenly, the sand gave way, effectively swallowing up the vehicle as it slid into the lake. The driver swam to safety. Roc-Star is cooperating with WorkSafeBC to investigate the incident, which the company said it is “sharing to raise awareness and support safer practices industrywide.” [CHEK]

Bank of Canada cuts interest rate to 2.5%: how it affects BC housing market
The quarter-point drop is the first change since March and was based on slowing growth and a softening labour market, Tiff Macklem, the Bank of Canada governor, said. The cut will result in modest reductions for those with variable-rate mortgages. They’ll see a savings of roughly $13 a month for every $100K owed. One Royal LePage rep says reducing the overnight benchmark by 25 basis points isn’t a game changer, but it sends a positive message that rates “are going in the right direction.” [CTV]

🗓️ Things to do

🐦 Watercolour Painting with Richard Wong: Learn to paint the house finch in vibrant watercolour at the Gardens at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific today. 1-4pm. [Info]

🎵 Sing Together: Connect with others and create joy through song at McMinn Park today. 6:30pm. [Info]

🧶 Rug Event in Sidney: Shop a large selection of hand-knotted tribal, Bokhara, and Persian rugs made by fairly paid adults in Pakistan at Sidney Pier Hotel. Today through Sept. 28. [Info]

🎶 Bald & Boujee: The Pitbull Party: Dance to music from Pitbull and his collaborators like Akon, Flo Rida, J.Lo, LMFAO, and more at Capital Ballroom tomorrow. 10pm. [Info]

🤣 Rick Mercer: The popular Canadian comic will perform twice at the Royal Theatre tomorrow. 7pm. [Info]  

😆 Brent Butt: The comedian and creator of Corner Gas will bring his unique—and truly Canadian—voice to McPherson Playhouse. Sat. 8pm. [Info]

☮️ International Day of Peace: Enjoy a performance from the Kalyna Ukrainian Choir and walk through Abkhazi Garden’s peaceful grounds. Sun. 11am-4pm. [Info] 

🕺Last Daze of Summer Day Party: Join DJ Suarez and Stanzo to end the summer season in style at The Fort Common. Sat. 3-9pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Wednesday’s headlines: Rabbits are making a comeback in Saanich; Discussion continues on new OCP; Oak Bay sends proposed housing back to the drawing board. [Sept. 17]

Photos: Victoria’s emerging circus community is taking the art form to new heights. [Capital Daily]

Elizabeth May fighting to hold on to her leadership position after announcing plans to step down before the next election. [CHEK]

Still world champion: Nanaimo’s Ethan Katzberg retains his hammer throw title in Tokyo. [CP / CTV]

BC Gov’t grants: multiculturalism and anti-racism. [Application]

E&N Rail in its heyday: See a train cross the trestle near Shawnigan Lake in 1904. [Facebook photo]

Lion’s mane jellyfish look mesmerizing underwater. Remember, never touch this type of jellyfish alive or dead—their venomous tentacles can hurt people and animals. [Video]

That’s it!

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