Air quality monitors will be provided to households in Dawson Creek to provide potentially life-saving information, especially for those who suffer from lung disease and are particularly vulnerable to poor air quality.
The City of Dawson Creek was identified as a community that is lacking a public outdoor air quality monitor and a high-risk area for wildfire smoke events.
The BC Lung Foundation wants to ensure that all residents of Dawson Creek have access to accurate, real-time air quality information.
BC Lung Foundation will be visiting Dawson Creek, BC, on July 8th to distribute 90 air quality monitors to the local community through Carter’s Project. Carter’s Project is an initiative in honour of Carter Vigh, which funds the free distribution of air quality monitors throughout British Columbia.
In the summer of 2023, in 100 Mile House, BC, 9-year-old Carter Vigh sadly passed away due to an asthma attack exacerbated by poor air quality. The nearest air quality monitoring station was 100km away; the skies were clear, but the air over 100 Mile was, invisibly, very poor.
Local, real-time air quality monitoring would likely have saved his life. In May 2024, BC Lung launched Carter’s Project as they visited Carter’s hometown of 100 Mile House to distribute air quality monitors to local families who wanted access to real-time data on air quality.
Over the past month, BC Lung has invited households within Dawson Creek to apply to receive a free indoor air quality monitor. Next week, a total of 90 air quality monitors will be distributed including 85 indoor monitors and 5 outdoor monitors.
All Dawson Creek residents will be able to access real-time air quality readings online from the data provided by the outdoor monitors throughout the city.
On July 8th, BC Lung will be hosting a town hall meeting at Co-op Mercer Hall from 9pm -7pm (registration opens at 6:30pm) where they will distribute the 85 indoor air quality monitors, provide education and resources relating to wildfire smoke and air quality monitoring.