Heavy smoke again in the forecast Sunday

FAA WeatherCam at Copper Mountain shows a layer of heavy smoke looking northward towards Silverthorne in Summit County

Another day of active wildfire conditions will likely produce enormous amounts of smoke and pose a public health risk for large parts of Colorado. Although there are many wildfires across the region, the main culprits for the smoke in Colorado are the Ferris in southwestern Colorado near the Dolores/Montezuma county line, the Snyder along the Colorado/Utah state line in western Mesa County, and the Babylon in southeastern Utah. All three of these wildfires are located in areas where Red Flag Warnings are in effect on Sunday. This means that hot, dry and windy weather will likely increase fire activity and smoke production, especially Sunday afternoon and evening.

Heavy smoke can found in many areas Sunday morning which is lingering from yesterday's smoke intrusion. The mountains and valleys of central Colorado are seeing the worst of the air quality Sunday morning, including in and around Aspen, Edwards, Silverthorne, Kremmling and Granby, along with locations on the Peak to Peak Highway from Blackhawk northward to Estes Park. Air quality conditions in these areas should gradually improve this morning as the atmosphere begins to heat up, but be prepared for the possibility for another round of smoke later today.

Areas near the fires, but also well downwind of the fires, will be impacted by smoke on Sunday. The winds over the fires will once again transport the smoke from southwest to northeast at high speeds and over long distances. The Air Quality Health Advisories that were issued yesterday have been expanded slightly to include a few additional counties to the east and south. Communities stretching from Telluride northward to Grand Junction and Steamboat Springs, and eastward from the central mountains to the western foothills of the northern Front Range should be prepared for periods of moderate to heavy smoke through at least Monday morning.

There are several ways that you can protect your health from wildfire smoke. We will continue to provide updates here on the blog as conditions evolve.

EPA's Fire and Smoke Map shows heavy smoke Sunday morning across parts of central and western Colorado