52- Wildfire and poor air quality in BC during our camping trip

With wildfire smoke affecting much of British Columbia, we set off on a camping trip to take a break from the haze.

TRAVEL LIFESTYLENATURE

8/7/20262 min read

Person preparing coffee on a picnic table beside a parked vehicle at a forest campground.
Person preparing coffee on a picnic table beside a parked vehicle at a forest campground.

It has been about two weeks now that wildfires have been burning all around us and the air quality has been terrible. Since mid-July, we've been constantly under yellow and orange air quality alerts. Many families in the cities around us have had to evacuate because the risk of fire damaging their homes and properties became too high.

We haven't received any evacuation orders and we haven't had a wildfire directly threaten Big White, partly because of the cooler mountain temperatures up here. But nothing is certain, that could change at any time.

Last weekend, we decided to go camping somewhere in nature. I had been wanting to do that for four years and last weekend was finally the time. We drove a long way to Osoyoos. Along the way, we saw multiple active wildfires and passed through areas where the air quality was so poor that we kept driving until we found somewhere with cleaner air, away from the smoke and the fires.

Mountain highway disappearing into wildfire smoke in British Columbia.
Mountain highway disappearing into wildfire smoke in British Columbia.

Many campsites were already full, so we had to keep driving farther to find a spot. We finally found one. There was only a single campsite left and if we had arrived just two minutes later, we probably would have missed it.

The downside was that it wasn't far from the highway, so we woke up several times during the night to the sound of heavy trucks passing by. Even so, I loved the atmosphere of the place. It felt unfamiliar in the best way, yet peaceful. We slept in our car with a tent extension attached to the back to have extra legroom. It became so cold during the night. Thankfully, we had prepared for it and stayed warm, although I still woke up a few times because I felt cold.

Quiet forest campsite with a vehicle and camping setup in Princeton, British Columbia.
Quiet forest campsite with a vehicle and camping setup in Princeton, British Columbia.

The morning, though, was heavenly. We woke up early as the first rays of sunlight peeked through all the windows. The birds were singing. I remember hearing at least three different songs. It felt so peaceful. Mornings in nature always have something special about them, even when you're camped beside a highway.

We made our morning coffee on the picnic table. This is such a good feeling to drink a hot cup of coffee that you had to make an extra effort on a cold morning. It adds another layer of flavour to your coffee 🙂

Bowl of freshly brewed coffee with granola bars on a wooden picnic table at a campsite.
Bowl of freshly brewed coffee with granola bars on a wooden picnic table at a campsite.

Talk soon!

Aug 3, 2026

Princeton, BC