Potential for heavy smoke continues for western and central Colorado, with some improvement for the eastern plains

Air quality remains a concern across large parts of Colorado. It's a complex scenario so let's move from west to east across the state.

Western and central Colorado are seeing a wide variety of air quality conditions Wednesday morning. There is somewhat heavy smoke in parts of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. This is especially true in some of the higher terrain to the west and southwest of Telluride and Silverton. Lower smoke levels can be found further north in Grand Junction, Aspen and Steamboat Springs. However, the Air Quality Health Advisory for Wildfire Smoke will be extended for the entire Western Slope until at least 9am Thursday. Why is this, if some areas are currently seeing lower levels of smoke? 

First, wildfires to the west and northwest of Colorado remain very active. The satellite image below from yesterday afternoon shows massive smoke plumes in Idaho and Utah moving from west to east.

GeoColor satellite image Tuesday afternoon of smoke plumes to the west of Colorado. Satellite image courtesy of Colorado State University's CIRA Slider

Some of the smoke from those plumes yesterday is likely over Colorado this morning. That smoke could mix down to the surface over central and western Colorado by this afternoon. Additionally, those fires are likely to be active again today and send more smoke in the direction of Colorado.

Second, red flag warnings are in effect today for large sections of central and western Colorado. If new wildfires start today, that will add even more smoke to the atmosphere. We also need to keep an eye on ongoing wildfires across the state. These include the Elk fire north of Lake City, the Rio Blanco fire south of Pagosa Springs, and the Indian Creek fire near Rabbit Ears Pass between Kremmling and Walden. The Elk and Indian Creek fires are especially concerning today as both lie within the red flag warning zone.

Further east, the Interstate 25 corridor is also seeing elevated levels of particle pollution Wednesday morning. This includes Ft. Collins southward through Denver and Colorado Springs to Pueblo. We are not expecting additional smoke in these areas today, but there is enough smoke currently along with normal urban pollution to keep all of these areas under an advisory today. Please keep in mind that along with particle pollution, high ozone will also likely be an issue today around the Denver metro area, Boulder, Longmont, Greeley, and Ft. Collins.

Webcam image looking west from Monument Hill/Kelly Air Park between Denver and Colorado Springs. Webcam image courtesy of Federal Aviation Administration WeatherCams

The one area removed from yesterday's advisory is the eastern plains. This includes most areas to the east of Interstate 25. Although we are not expecting see rapid improvement in air quality across the plains today, current smoke levels are in the moderate category and we are not anticipating any additional smoke through at least tomorrow morning.  The latest county advisory map of Colorado is below.

Map of current air quality advisories in Colorado