Ask Explore: Should I Still Go Hiking in Wildfire Smoke?
Welcome to Ask Explore, Explore Magazine’s new outdoor advice column. We’re here to answer all of your wildest questions about Canada, the outdoors and our place in it.
Here’s how it works: send us your questions and outdoor writer and expert Cam Fenton will draw on his years of experience as a guide, paramedic, journalist and outdoor educator to try to answer them. If he doesn’t know the answer, he’ll interview experts. Either way, these will be answers you can trust from people who have lived the adventure.
Whether your question is about gear, trails, bears, weather or some esoteric piece of Canadian outdoor history, we want to hear it. We will keep your name anonymous, and we may edit your questions and signature line for clarity. Think of this as your very own advice column for the outdoors. No question is too big or too small. As Carl Sagan once wrote, “There are naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions… But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.”
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“The trail I was planning to hike is covered in wildfire smoke. Is it still safe for me to go?”
– Air Quality Anxious
I hear you, Hazy Hiker. This question was burning in my mind when I woke up with a scratch in my throat, the smell of toasted timber wafting through my bedroom window and the dates for an upcoming backpacking trip circled on my calendar.
It was mid-July in beautiful BC and, seemingly overnight, some 34,000 lighting strikes flashed across the province sparking more than 100 new wildfires. The week prior, photos from Ontario’s historic fire season destroying communities, forcing thousands from their homes and filling the skies of Toronto with caustic smoke circled the internet.
With more than 950 fires burning across Canada by the end of July, there’s a good chance that no matter where you are, you either are dealing with or will be dealing with fires and smoke at some point this summer. Currently, in British Columbia, there are air quality warnings and evacuation alerts.
Is it safe to get outside in these conditions, even if you’re not hiking right where the wildfire is? How bad is it for you, really?
Don’t Get Burned
A quick search on Google and social media may warn you of fires in your area, but there’s a better way to stay informed. On the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, you’ll find maps and other resources about wildfires in your area. Nearly every province and territory has a live map, like this one from BC Wildfire, showing wildfire activity; in many places, you can even download it as an app.
If you’re wondering about a specific park or trail, you can also find closure and fire information about provincial and national parks on agency websites. Some popular hiking apps include wildfire maps and data. Navigation tools like Gaia and OnX have map layers that show wildfire activities and closures. While AllTrails tries to post wildfire trail closures on its platform, it can be slow to update.
Wildfires Impacts are Bigger Than Just the Fire
On July 27, the City of Kamloops announced it would be opening up rooms at Sun Peaks resort, a popular ski area north of the city for wildfire evacuees. The interior British Columbia city didn’t have enough rooms to handle the overlap between peak summer tourist season and an influx of families fleeing nearby fires. It’s not the first time this has happened, and it highlights the fact that wildfires have impacts far beyond just the burn. They also strain all kinds of resources, from accommodation to emergency services, even if you’re not hiking exactly where the wildfire is.
Search and rescue teams will be impacted by the wildfires, even if you’re hiking far away When a fire broke out near the town of Pemberton, BC, this July, the local search-and-rescue team posted a warning:
“Pemberton Search & Rescue remains ready to respond when called, but ongoing wildfire operations will impact response times,” they said. “If you require assistance in the backcountry, your rescue could be significantly delayed due to competing emergency demands, road access or aircraft availability.”
They suggested people planning outdoor adventures to “check wildfire conditions and closures before you go, carry the essentials and be prepared to be self-sufficient, share your trip plan with someone you trust [and] turn around if conditions change.”
The farther you can be from the wildfires, the safer you’ll be. Never hike in an area under a wildfire closure, even if the fire doesn’t appear to be nearby.
Is Smoke Inhalation on a Hike a Health Concern?
Where there’s fire, there’s smoke. And increasingly, as climate change intensifies wildfires across Canada, that smoke is spreading and bringing its own suite of health risks. When forests burn, they release a blend of pollutants, chemicals and particulates like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds. There’s also just a lot of fine particulate matter, and while all of these compounds can also show up in campfire smoke, when they fill the air for days on end, Health Canada says they can lead to “a wide range of health effects.”
“There’s no known safe level of exposure for some of these pollutants,” a Health Canada website explains. “Smoke can impact your health even at very low levels. As smoke levels increase, your health risk increases.”
The best way to manage your risk—and to decide if you need to cancel or postpone your adventure—is to check the smoke forecast and the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) for your planned trip.
Graded on a scale of 1 to 10+, Environment and Climate Change Canada publishes AQHI reports for regions across the country. The lower the number, the healthier the air. A score of 1 to 3 is “ideal air quality for outdoor activities,” however, some people who are sensitive to smoke may feel symptoms including nausea, headaches, feeling unwell or irritated sinuses from anything above a 2, despite it being officially “low risk.” A rating of 4 to 6 come with a recommendation to reduce your time outside if you feel symptoms, like a scratchy throat, watery eyes or a cough. Anything above a 7 comes with a recommendation against “strenuous outdoor activities.”
According to research published by Dr. Sarah Henderson, scientific director of Environmental Health Services with the BC Centre for Disease Control, it gets worse when smoke and heat combine.
“When it’s very hot, your body is fighting hard to maintain its core temperature and keep cool, and when it’s smoky, your body is fighting hard to reduce the inflammation caused by smoke exposure,” she said. “When these things happen at the same time, it puts more stress on your body.”
Add high exertion, like the kind you do on the trail, and that stress gets even higher. So, what can you do about it?
How to Prepare for Smoky Summer Adventures
The first thing is to mentally prepare yourself to cancel or change trip plans. I know it sucks, Hazy Hiker, but this is the reality. Wildfires are unpredictable and conditions can change quickly. A few weeks ago, there were only a few evacuation orders in BC and now, hundreds of people have had to leave their homes. When to cancel a trip can be a challenging decision, especially when you’ve dreamed of it for years (and finally snagged that backcountry camping spot). Sometimes it’s obvious when a park, trail or a road closes; there’s an evacuation alert or roder; or you know you will be miserable in the weather. Other times, it’s more complicated and the best thing you can do is be prepared.
Like with fire risk, it’s all about being prepared. Check local weather forecasts and look at the AQHI. You can also use websites like FireSmoke.ca or windy.com; the latter has both wildfire risk and particulate concentration layers you can toggle on to see both current and forecast smoke conditions.
Sometimes, moving to a higher elevation can reduce smoke concentrations. Other times, you may need a plan B, either in a less smoky destination or by doing something easier, like a gentle paddle on a lake. If you’re going on a longer trip and worried that smoke could arrive while you’re out in the backcountry, it’s always worth considering changing your plans. But on bigger trips, like a two-week canoe trip on the Nahanni, that can be tough. Some thru-hikers on weeks-long trips like the Pacific Crest Trail have taken to packing an N95 mask to reduce their risk.
For me, the fires made my decision pretty easy. At the time of writing, two trails and campsites along my route are closed due to fire danger, as is one of the local access roads. I’m planning out different ideas, either to head out in the fall when, hopefully, some rain lets fire crews get these blazes under control.
For you, Air Quality Anxious, I would say to watch your local weather forecast and fire map. It might not be safe to do that hike today, or even next week, but there will be a time when the skies are clear. It’s best to take this as an opportunity to check out a new place or just practice some patience and wait it out. Maybe you hit the gym to work out your mountaineering muscles with squats, lunges, mountain climbers or calf raises. Maybe you take the opportunity to sit down and flip through the latest issue of explore magazine that’s been patiently waiting on your coffee table. Or maybe you get inspired with a new adventure documentary while staying safe and cool in your AC. There are still ways to fuel your adventurous spirit, even without getting outside. The mountains will still be there, even if it takes some time.
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