Areas of smoke remaining on Thursday with a slight shift

Wildfire smoke will remain in the conversation for many areas of Colorado on Thursday and Friday. There is a bit of difference between the source of smoke for different areas, yet the outcome is much the same. Let's go through it all.

Western and southwestern Colorado will continue to receive smoke from fires in Utah and Nevada. The Elk and Rio Blanco fires in Colorado will also add smoke to the mix. All of these fires remain active, with hot, dry, and breezy weather, so smoke will remain a concern.

Northwestern and central Colorado, the Front Range, and portions of the eastern plains will receive smoke transported from the northwestern US. Many fires continue to burn in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and the Pacific Northwest, sending smoke toward Colorado. Smoke will follow upper level winds into our area, and will descend to the surface. The locations that will see the most surface smoke depends on influences from terrain and vertical mixing of the atmosphere. This pattern shifts each day, so the footprint of the advisory has changed on Thursday. El Paso and Pueblo Counties were removed from the Smoke Advisory, and Morgan County was added.

Map of fire incidents from InciWeb, the national fire incident information system. Map shows the multitude of fires that may affect Colorado air quality. Note: Not all incidents shown may be active.

This does not mean that other areas of Colorado will be smoke-free. We expect hazy skies and light to moderate levels of smoke to be present in all areas of the state.

We encourage everyone statewide to remain aware of the potential for quickly changing levels of smoke, especially in areas covered by advisories and alerts. Reduce heavy physical exertion if possible, and be prepared to take actions to reduce health impacts due to smoke.

We will end this post with a glimmer of hope, and a bit of caution. The large scale weather pattern is expected to shift, beginning on Friday. This will push smoke from upwind states further north, and may reduce impacts in some areas of Colorado. We hope that this change brings some relief from the impacts from smoke. Caution remains in this message because this shift in weather will bring increasing temperatures back to Colorado. Hot and dry weather may pose its own risks to fire behavior and public health.

Hang in there folks. We will keep updates coming so you can stay informed.