Some good news in the Grand Valley this morning as air quality has improved quite a bit. However, we are still seeing some pretty heavy smoke in close vicinity to the Turner Gulch fire. With a Red Flag Warning in effect today for Mesa County, the Turner Gulch fire will likely remain active in spots and bring another round of moderate to heavy smoke tonight and tomorrow for Gateway and other locations surrounding the fire on Highway 141. With less of a threat for heavier smoke in other parts of Mesa County, the Air Quality Health Advisory for Wildfire Smoke will be in effect for only southern parts of Mesa County through Monday morning.
Meanwhile, there were two new wildfire starts yesterday in La Plata County. The Elkhorn fire is located in northern La Plata County just east of Highway 550 about 15 miles north of Durango. This fire is producing some moderate to locally heavy smoke around Hermosa and southward into the Durango area. Fortunately the smoke should decrease by late Sunday morning as the atmosphere heats up. Meanwhile, the Rim Road fire is located in southern La Plata County on the Southern Ute Reservation. County Road 318 to the north of the fire and in the vicinity of Los Pinos Fire Station 3 could be impacted with smoke Sunday morning. But much like the Elkhorn fire, smoke should decrease throughout the area with the heating of the day.
The good news with these two wildfires in La Plata County is that it should not be quite as windy as yesterday which decreases the threat for explosive fire development. However, we will continue to monitor both of these fires for smoke production on Sunday and will issue an advisory if needed.
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