The air in Utah has changed all of a sudden! The wonderfully calm air out here doesn't move very quickly, which can lead to long stretches of beautiful clear skies. The downside to that comes when neighboring states have wild fires. Fires produce a lot of smoke that travels with the wind, but it can travel hundreds of miles. Right now, there are several wild fires in Idaho and Washington state, probably more, that are causing smoke to slowly blow into our area, and congest the air. The view of the mountains from our back yard to the east has all but disappeared. The news has said that it is not a health hazard, but it is more of a visibility concern for aircraft, etc. I am curious if that stance will stay the same. For those in Iowa, you may remember when the Iowa City landfill caught on fire a few years ago, and there was an immediate press release saying "The smoke is not a health hazard". Shortly thereafter, they recanted and told people to stay indoors and to not allow those with respiratory health issues to go outdoors. Oops.
Here is a photo of the sun rising over the Wasatch mountains to the east this morning. (I stopped the car before I took the photo...) It's a little surreal. I hope the fires are contained soon. Perhaps a wind pattern change will blow this air out of the valley. They released some
satellite photos as well that show the smoke all over the western U.S. At least we are not alone~
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