Smoke in many areas of western Colorado, with varying impacts and expectations

Wildfires and smoke will continue to be a part of many peoples' lives and conversations as we start the week, and rightfully so. There is much to address, so we will work from north to south, attempting to cover all aspects.

The largest fire(s) in Colorado, producing some of the greatest impacts include the Lee and Elk fires in Rio Blanco County. Combined, these fires cover around 130,000 acres and have limited containment as of Monday. Winds will transport smoke to areas to the south and southeast of these fires, creating smoke impacts in neighboring counties. Information on the extent of the greatest impacts can be found in the Air Quality Health Advisory for these fires.

Satellite image of heat detection of wildfires showing the location of fires throughout western Colorado. Image courtesy CIRA/CSU.

The second area of fire activity is in relation to the Turner Gulch fire in southern Mesa County. This fire continues to be active in interior portions of the fires' footprint, yet has not shown widespread smoke impacts for several days. Areas in the immediate vicinity of the fire will continue to see some smoke, and some areas may have moderate to heavy impacts at times. However from the information that is available to us including monitoring and coordination with fire managers, the severity and period of impacts from smoke do not support an Air quality Health Advisory for this fire at this time.

The third fire that is causing air quality impacts is the Stoner Mesa fire in eastern Dolores County. Smoke from this fire has largely been localized to areas near the fire, however as fire intensity and smoke production grows on Monday, additional areas may see smoke from this fire. Areas such as Cortez and Durango have seen intermittent periods of moderate to heavy smoke, however similar to  the Turner Gulch fire, the duration and severity of these episodes have not justified inclusion in advisories so far. As of this writing (Monday) the Air Quality Health Advisory for Wildfire Smoke related to this fire only coverers eastern Dolores County; though this may change with updated information.

The heat from all of these fires can be seen in the satellite image above, which shows infrared energy emitting from these incidents. What is not seen in the satellite image (or is very hard to discern) is the locations of two fires that are affecting areas of Archuleta County.

The Middle Mesa fire is in New Mexico, just south of the Colorado border, and the Oak fire is in Archuleta County to the northwest of Pagosa Springs. Both of these fires are certainly contributing to the presence of smoke in this region. However, as with other areas already motioned, the severity of impacts have not yet risen to levels that trigger an advisory.

CDPHE issues advisories when the AQI for particulate matter is expected to reach the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups level over a 24 hour period. We are monitoring conditions and will issue more advisories as needed.

With all of this said, keeping the public informed of our expectations, and providing information so that you can make decisions on how best to protect your health is our ultimate goal. We will continue to monitor all of these situations as they evolve, and post additional updates as information becomes available.