It has been a busy day for area fire departments due to the smell of wildfire smoke coming from Nova Scotia.

High winds have carried the smell and haze to New Brunswick, prompting special air quality advisories for parts of New Brunswick, including Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick, Saint John and County and Sussex, Kennebecasis Valley and Kings County.

Moncton Fire Deputy Chief Keith Guptill says on Monday morning, Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview departments received around 300 calls.

“We weren’t sent on all of those calls because dispatch is tweaking them or triaging them, I guess you would say, asking the callers, Do you see flames anywhere? Do you know if your neighbour has a bonfire going on? Do you know those kinds of things? We have to be careful in some areas because we know that there are encampments. So we’re obviously sending apparatus whenever we can and whenever we need to. But we also have to consider, is this just smoke that is hanging in the air, or can I see billowing smoke? There is a big difference for us.”

This part of the province was right in the path of the high winds blowing in from the Annapolis Valley on Sunday, and that caused the haze and smell of smoke.

“Last year, with all the wildland fires that were in Western Canada, they had issues with air quality as far as into the United States as a result. So smoke can travel. It travels with the wind, and if it’s thick enough and heavy enough, it will obviously create issues,” Guptill explained.

He also warned that in situations like this, those with respiratory issues, COPD, asthma, things like that, should always close their windows and be careful of ventilation systems, their HVAC system, because they’re going to be pulling that smoke into their homes.

Guptill encourages anyone who smells smoke at any time to call 911, but in this situation, he asked that they pause for a moment and look to see if there is something on fire. “We had a car fire earlier today, and it was very obvious. Flames were coming from the vehicle, right? So, we kind of want them to just take a moment and take stock. We’re not saying don’t call 911, if you have a concern, dispatch is going to ask some questions, but the 911 lines can get jammed up with calls for smoke that we already know is there.”

He added how important it is, especially right now, to report anyone having fires in their backyard.

“We’re not trying to take enjoyment or fun from anyone here in the Moncton area. All we’re trying to do is protect our neighbourhoods and our forests. Over the weekend, we got a number of calls to mulch fires, which can spontaneously combust. Or someone that’s walking by has flicked a butt from a cigarette into that mulch, and it has caught fire. Fires right now are literally a big no-no, and it’s putting us all at risk. We don’t want to risk people’s lives, people’s homes, people’s livelihoods, just so that we can have our right to have a fire out in the backyard, in a pit. We need to be respectful of those around us,” Guptill stressed.