2 days ago
Ottawa families out enjoying warm weekend despite smoke advisories
Smoke didn't stop families from enjoying a day in the nation's capital with tons of outdoor activities for the family to take part in this weekend.
People filled the streets for the Ottawa Italian Festival to watch a car parade and enjoy the warm weather.
'We wanted to come out and see the Ferrari's and take advantage of the nice weather,' said Lindsey Gibeau, attending the Italian Festival with her family.
'The boys love cars. We're super excited to be down here.'
Joelle Gagne and Vic Gauvreau also taking in the sounds and music of the festival.
'The heat is here. The day is beautiful. The sun is shining. It's a great day to come on down,' said Joelle Gagne.
Gagne says she usually is sensitive when it comes to the air quality, but felt comfortable.
The annual Firefighters Day also returned and many children had their opportunity to sit in a big red firetruck.
The event shared important safety messages on what to do if a fire occurs at home and obstacles for the whole family to enjoy.
'The air quality is always something that we monitor. For today, we monitored it very closely,' said Marc Lalonde, Sector Chief with the Ottawa Fire Services. 'We have a stash of N95 masks for anybody that's affected by the poor air quality.'
Some people checked the air quality health index before heading out for the day.
'We watched the air quality this morning. My wife prepared us and said it's a five or six - we can go. We prepared the kids so we put the mask on and here we are. It's a beautiful day,' said Cristian Tunsu.
Others say they wanted to support their local firefighters for keeping them safe, so getting outside didn't bother them.
A special air quality statement remains in effect as as fires continue to ravage the Prairies. High levels of air pollution due to smoke are expected to continue into Sunday morning.
