As summer continues to heat up, the peppered look of satellite fire detections has also flickered to life. Fires have emerged in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico (as well as other states and Canada), and have at times put off reasonably notable plumes of smoke. However thus far, not too much of that smoke has reached Colorado at levels that affect air quality. This is good news!
There are enough indicators that these fires are capable of growth and smoke production that motivated us to make this post, however there are other limiting factors (and some uncertainty) that helps to keep our concerns fairly low for now.
The bottom line is that hazy skies are possible for many areas of Colorado, particularly on the Western Slope. These may periodically reach the mountains and eastern plains too, yet significant health impacts look unlikely at this time. Light amounts of smoke may be experienced in areas where smoke plumes and atmospheric conditions align just right. However in the near-term these are likely to be episodic and transient.
As always, we will keep our eyes on things and will report any changes in expectations if any come about in the coming days.
