By Canadian Press

Smoky skies stops some mail in B.C. over Canada Post health concerns

Sep 15, 2020 | 10:56 AM

VANCOUVER — Canada Post must decide if mail service will resume in several parts of British Columbia after delivery was suspended Monday over plunging air quality linked to smoke from wildfires in the United States.

The corporation posted a message on social media advising that wood smoke wafting north from the U.S. had cut air quality over central and southern B.C., making delivery unsafe for its workers.

Service was halted in Metro Vancouver, several Vancouver Island cities from Victoria to Nanaimo and Courtenay, and in southern Interior cities from Kelowna and Kamloops east to the Kootenay region.

Environment Canada is maintaining poor air quality advisories over all but a northern quarter of the province.

It says conditions are expected to improve, but only slightly, and warns ground-level smoke could remain until later this week.

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The air quality health index issued by the weather office rates conditions for much of central and southern B.C. at 10-plus, the highest risk level on the chart, meaning outdoor activities should be avoided, especially by those with underlying health issues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2020.

The Canadian Press