Calgary Stampede day 7: Wildfire smoke not affecting festival

While thunderstorms and rain got the Calgary Stampede started, on day seven the city has been blanketed with smoke from wildfires from B.C. and northern Alberta, but partygoers don’t want to let it ruin the fun.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued a special air quality statement for the city Thursday, with the air quality index sitting at a seven as of 7:30 p.m., which is “High Risk in Smoke.”

There are around 7,500 animals at the event, and monitoring their health in the hazy conditions is a priority, particularly during the home stretch of the rodeo events.

“These are quite mild smoky conditions. I mean, we all woke up and saw it this morning. It’s certainly in the air, but at this point, everything is a go for Stampede,” said Kristina Barnes, manager at the Agriculture and Western Event at the Calgary Stampede.

“Many of our animal competitions and exhibitions are indoors in the Western Event Centre, with the rodeo and the chuckwagons being our primary outdoor ones, so we are watching the conditions and assessing them very closely, and we’ll monitor those animals accordingly.”

The Calgary Stampede uses an air quality monitoring system as part of its safety plan.

WATCH: In their blood: the Glass family’s chuckwagon racing legacy at Stampede

Kerrie Blizard, the director of public safety and environment, told reporters on the Stampede grounds that there’s no risk of any changes to events at this time.

“At that level, we are really just continuing to monitor. The current conditions are certainly less than ideal for us, but there is no imminent plans to modify or cancel any scheduled programs,” she said.

“We are just aware of the changing circumstances to make sure that we continue to communicate with our people and our guests.”

People heading to the Stampede could smell and feel the smoke in the air, but it didn’t stop them from enjoying the festival.

“We did find there was a lot of smoke this morning, and we had plans to come to the Stampede, and we are still here so it’s great,” one guest at the grounds told CityNews.

Another visitor said, “It’s not impacting the day too much. I’m just going to enjoy Stampede.”

“I think it’s going to be a part of what a lot of days this summer are going to look like, so I guess we’ll just have to learn to deal with it for now,” another guest said.

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The big question on their minds is, will the forecast be better for the weekend?

CityNews Meteorologist Michael Kuss says this is the most extensive smoke the city has seen in July, particularly since smoke blanketed Calgary with a red, sci-fi red hue in May.

He adds winds coming from the north are contributing to the smoke, adding it may persist through Thursday and Friday.

“We’re expecting air quality to be poor to very poor in and out through that stretch — really a 48-hour stretch — before we get any improvement,” he explained.

“There are still dozens of wildfires burning in northern Alberta and hundreds in British Columbia. The Donnie Creek wildfire in British Columbia is now almost 600,000 hectares in size, and a lot of the smoke that’s getting into Calgary is coming from that forest fire.”

Kuss says the smoke will improve over the weekend, with winds heading to the west and southwest, but adds there might still be light smoke.

“We are going to see conditions improving, warming up and clearing out for both Saturday and Sunday,” he said.

Meanwhile, Barnes says animals at the Stampede will continue to be closely monitored.

“The rodeo … is a short burst of exhaustion, so for eight seconds at the rodeo to a minute 13 — minute 30 at the wagons — these are short periods of time that are easier to manage in these kinds of conditions,” she said.

She says the event is holding off for now, but it can activate safety protocols and put events on hold if needed.

-With files from Lauryn Heintz