Colorado fires flaring up

The Elk fire to the north of Lake City in northern Hinsdale County has flared up on Tuesday with the increasingly hot and dry weather conditions. This entire area is already under an Air Quality Health Advisory for Wildfire Smoke due to smoke being transported from outside of Colorado (see this morning's blog post below for more information).  But the smoke from this fire will only make air quality worse in locations near the fire. 

Downwind smoke impacts could be felt to the east of the fire in northern parts of the San Luis Valley, including Saguache. Overnight, smoke could get heavy to the north of Lake City along Highway 149.

Meanwhile, the Rio Blanco fire to the south of Pagosa Springs in Archuleta County is also showing an increase in activity. This fire is a bit more isolated, so public health impacts will likely be more limited to areas in very close vicinity to the fire. One thing to keep in mind is that not only particle pollution is elevated in Archuleta County. Ozone is pretty high too, so an advisory for multiple pollutants has been issued for both Archuleta and La Plata counties, including the Southern Ute reservation.

Band 7 shortwave satellite image of the Elk and Rio Blanco fires in southwestern Colorado. CIRA slider image courtesy of Colorado State University