An increase in fire behavior and smoke production on Wednesday, mainly from from the Turner Gulch Fire in Mesa County and the Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon in Arizona, has once again degraded air quality in areas of western and southwestern Colorado. The greatest impacts were seen in areas where the influence of both of these incidents were felt, and led to the reissuance of the Air Quality Health Advisory for Wildfire Smoke in Mesa County.
Other locations throughout the 4-Corners region also saw an uptick in PM2.5 concentrations on Wednesday afternoon, and will likely contend with haze and Moderate air quality on Thursday and Friday. Smoke may linger in areas where it has infiltrated already, and additional smoke may arrive, depending on transport winds and fire activity on Thursday. Daytime mixing of the atmosphere will play a role on how quickly smoke may dissipate, and also how much smoke reaches the surface as the daily cycle of production and transport continues.
It appears that as upper level winds change direction as we move toward the weekend, the areas seeing smoke may shift. It is possible that the light to moderate impacts that are currently seen to the south of Mesa County, may move toward counties to the north and east of the Advisory area.
We will continue to watch these trends and will provide updates on smoke concentrations and our expectations as they become more clearly defined. We encourage everyone in western Colorado to remain aware of changing conditions and take health precautions as appropriate.
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