The horizon is a bit clearer this morning across the Western Slope as smoke levels have decreased for most areas. The reason behind this is that the local wildfires were much less active yesterday. This was due to more cloud cover and higher moisture levels. Additionally, transport winds high up in the atmosphere were weaker yesterday. The weaker transport winds resulted in smoke that was unable to travel as far from the fires as it did earlier this week. The EPA's Fire and Smoke Map shows mostly moderate levels of particle pollution across the region this morning.
The "burning" question today is how will the wildfires behave. In many ways, it should be fairly similar to yesterday. Although cloud cover is probably not going to be quite as extensive as yesterday, relative humidity levels will remain fairly high and transport winds will not be strong. That being said, local thunderstorms could produce gusty, erratic winds which could both increase fire activity and send smoke in any direction. So the biggest concern in the short-term will for areas in very close vicinity to the fires. Southern parts of Mesa and western parts of Montrose Counties will be the areas with the highest chance of heavier smoke, especially late Friday night and early Saturday morning. This includes the communities of Gateway, Paradox, and Bedrock.
The weekend outlook includes a gradual drying trend, so the fires may become more active again. That being said, if you would like to spend some time outdoors in Grand Junction, Delta, Montrose, or some of the local recreational areas such as Grand Mesa, today through tomorrow morning looks like a good option.
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