Where are my mountains!? Normally, we have stunning views of the Rockies from Denver. But the last few days, the smoke and haze has been so thick, it’s tough to see those gorgeous peaks.
Smoke in the Front Range moved into Colorado from the east, but a lot of it is coming from California. I know what you’re thinking: California is to our west!
Yes, you’re absolutely right. Bear with me…
The smoke from the wildfires burning in the Pacific Northwest, including the largest fire in California state history, is as far reaching as New York City.
The smoke from the western fires was carried north, all the way to Canada, where it then wrapped around the backside of a high pressure system that is making its way back into Colorado.
Most of this smoke is as high as mile up in the atmosphere, but can be found at lower levels too.
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This is obvious when we try to check out our awesome view of the mountains from Denver, since they’re barely visible.
While the smoke high in the air definitely doesn’t look great, thankfully it doesn’t have a major impact on our air quality for those of us on the ground. If we see those particles sink, then we could certainly see air quality issues.
There are fires burning in Colorado that are contributing to our smoky skies as well. The thickest wildfire smoke in our state is found in west-central Colorado, where smoke from the Bull Draw fire is moderate to heavy at times. This is expected to be the case through Tuesday morning.
Grand Junction, Montrose, Delta and Telluride could also see moderate smoke. It’s in these areas where could see air quality issues for those who are sensitive.
Storms are back in the forecast by Tuesday afternoon, which could temporarily provide some relief from the smoky skies. But unfortunately, the wildfires out west are continuing to burn, so unless there’s a major shift in our weather pattern, expect the haze to stick around.
