Re: Time to douse the burning (Chilliwack Progress, April 8): I have lived in Chilliwack for 20 years now, and being a curious boy I have burned, or try to burn pretty much anything and everything. As I read the April 8 letter I wondered if the writer had ever actually burned diesel fuel or an old tire. If he had, he would know that old tires or diesel fuel burns a very heavy black smoke. I have never seen a farmer, or anybody for that matter, have a thick black column of smoke rising from their burn piles. I don’t even think I have seen blue smoke either, which would indicate a type of oil being burned.
So maybe you should research what colour smoke comes from what, before you write a letter in the paper. You should also go ask someone or go see what they are actually burning. I find it very unlikely that farmers would burn old diesel or tires. Old tires usually end up on top of their silage pile to hold down a tarp. Also you can pretty much burn anything in a diesel engine. Many farm implements can run on a lower grade of diesel. So to throw “old” diesel on a fire is very unlikely. If a farmer actually had unusable diesel they would probably use it for cleaning parts.
As a second note Chilliwack is situated at the end of the Fraser Valley, so all the smog from the GVRD tends to collect here. Smog is formed from NOx and sunlight and is a much worse pollutant or health hazard than the smoke from brush burning. In my opinion people with respiratory problems should avoid even living here because pollutants all get funneled here. This is why many choose not to. What would really help everyone is the City allowing burning year round so it is not concentrated in a short period of time.
This is Chilliwack we have farms here! They were here long before you or I came here, if you don’t like it than move. Just so you know I am not a farmer.
Johnathan Krabbendam