So then should we be contacting Canfor and have them come around and clean it up ?

Good question lunarbase. Is it Canfor, Northern Health or hazmat that we contact?

Hmmmm...avoid the ash because it's harmful... toxic in other words. And this is after these chemicals burn which is all the more alarming because fire renders many chemicals harmless due to the high temps. Ya think they're harmful before they burn? These chemicals are EVERYWHERE, all around town and everywhere else on planet Earth.

Then the human scratches it's head without much going on inside it, "duh... I wonder why there's so much cancer... why are the Salmon in decline... duh... why are there frogs with 18 legs...heh! is that the new Plasma TV!..."

Go on folks, keep worshipping that money.

When do they expect to put the fire out? The smoke still permeates my neighbourhood and wafts into the house if you leave a window open.

Don't handle ash or residue pretty much means that you're not supposed to breathe. Of course, since this is Prince George, we all have a pretty good tolerance for crap in the air. Attend a council meeting to help develop your tolerance.

Why are they still using creosote? I know it saves the railways tons of money in replacement costs but isn't that stuff dangerous? Why is it that the railways seem to be able to continually do stuff that's killing us?

It's not only the railways, it's pretty much all industry doing things with toxic chemicals that are killing everything on the planet.
If all the chemicals that are killing us were to be banned then there would be no work for the people of this planet.
It takes a multitude of different toxic chemicals to produce almost everything ever made on this planet.
Sleep well.

If you think for one minute that the gov will really ever do anything about it your wrong. That is screwing with the economy.

Too bad city council never got around to designating the parking lot there a no-idling zone. What a mess. A lot of idling autos are gonna have to stop idling to compensate for this mess in our air. How about it, Colin?

Glad they waited until 36 hours after the ash fell to warn people.

ever hear of strontium 90? our governments have managed to cover up the cancerous harm for almost 60 years, as a fellow blogger said before the moneys in the treatment not in the cure!people will fall back into line as soon as the smoke clears.

well we just had a good hard rain so we're all rinsed and decontaminated now.....

;)

Money. Greed. Lust for power (just plain lust is okay though, isn't it?) Lack of concern for your fellow man/woman/shehe. We are all circling the drain, going round and round and round, but inexorably down.
metalman.

They say don't handle the debris as it is contaminated, ok. I wonder about the smoke everyong was breathing, authorities seem to be quiet on that one.

I wonder why so many people are getting so much fear panic and sarcasm out of this issue. Face it folks, touching charred creosote fly ash is NOT going to kill you or give you cancer. People these days act like they are made of glass. I wonder how my dad made it to 80. I wonder why so many people are determined to live to 100. I wonder why so few of them actually look at dealing with the real health risks in their lives. Obviously kids are not the only ones being overprotected these days.
I am scratching my head,stupid human that i am, and there are a few things going on in there. Enough at least to tell a real health hazard from trumped up nonsense.
I wonder whether some of you are serious about calling Canfor to clean up some fly ash. I wonder what exactly should have been done by authorities regarding the smoke. Maybe a city wide evacuation? Next time you guys have a camp fire (while such things are still allowed) maybe you ought to get the authorities to supply you with a gas mask. There are a lot of carcinogens in smoke from wood, even clean dry pine.
Maybe people do worship money too much these days. I doubt things are different than they ever were in that regard. I dont see much more logic in worshipping gaia than mammon myself. MAybe we ought to put more value on common sense instead of rhetoric.

carnamacil:
I think the point is an advisory was issued yet the authorities have not taken action....as usual.
And there are many toxins as you stated that may or may not affect our health. So I do agree that it is in fact a valid concern. I don't see any chicken littles here! Just concerned citizens IMHO.

That still doesnt answer the question as to what exactly the 'authorities'are supposed to do. Lets face it, the advisory had to be put out because there is the POSSIBILITY that fly ash MIGHT contain carcinogens that MIGHT pose a health risk. THey have to put these things out to cover their butts because the public is overwhelmed with self concern. Just because they put out he warrning it does not mean that there is a SIGNIFICANT threat. For this reason i dont think we need people in hazmat suits driving around to pick up ashes in peoples lawns. This is especially true since so many of said lawns actually incorporate old railway ties in the landscaping.
It's like pulling all the pipes out of the schools because there was lead in the solder. How the heck did our parents or our grandparents build this society, and lay the foundations for every art and science, and go to the moon when they had to drink out of LEAD pipes? My parents had lead plumbing. THey were and are smarter than i am in many ways. It is a matter of paranoia and self regard that leads us around from health scare to health scare. I was not kidding when i suggested that campfires will soon be a thing of the past for many folks. Even if they are not legislated away there will be a lot of people willing to give up this simple, but very primal pleasure in the hopes of extending their golden years in the future.
For all the fear and negativism about pollution and chemicals and UV exposure the fact remains that we are living longer all the time. In fact, the only factor likely to cause a reversal of this trend is obesity (and obesity related diabetes). Forget about strontium, creasote, and the rest. People need to get their butts outside and exercise if they want to live longer. Ditto if they want those extra years wrestled from god and nature to be worth living.