Wildfire Smoke Impacting Air Quality Across the West, Central U.S.
Smoke from large wildfires burning in the northwestern U.S. and western Canada has been getting caught in the jet stream and pushed into the Plains & Midwest. Thick smoke from numerous wildfires in NW Canada is also contributing to the poor air quality region-wide. The largest fire is the Park Fire burning near Sacramento, CA which began Wednesday, July 24 and that day grew over 124,000 acres. It is displaying extreme fire behavior making it extremely hard to contain.
As mentioned above, smoke is riding under a trough in Canada, projecting smoke particles into the central U.S. If you are sensitive to air quality, spend time inside with windows closed. If you have to go outside and are coughing from the smoke, you can wear a particulate filtering mask, like an N-95 to help mitigate the impact.
Thick smoke will continue to stream south from Canada in combination with smoke from California and the PNW which will travel north before riding east around a ridge of high pressure responsible for hot temperatures. The thickest smoke will be across Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas before the smoke becomes more dispersed through the Midwest and Midsouth.
Fire danger remains extremely high this week with thunderstorms in the area expected to produce lightning which could start new fires across the area. We will see strong winds fuel flames - on Wednesday there was a 100+ mph wind gust in Missoula, MT. Fire danger remains elevated as extreme heat continues along the west coast. Please avoid any outdoor burning or anything that will cause a spark. Hot and dry conditions mean water and moisture evaporate more quickly from trees, grasses, and shrubs, allowing them to burn faster.
Southwest Fires
Park Fire: (near Chico, CA): Now California's biggest fire so far this season, blowing up to 350k+ acres will little containment. See the related article here.
2024 SQF Lightning Complex (Tulare County, CA): this consists of the lightning storms that ignited the Trout and Long Fire on the Sequoia National Forest.
Shelly Fire (northern California): little to no growth is anticipated as fuels continue to smolder. Drivers in the area should remain alert for fire personnel.
Silver King Fire (central Utah): slightly drier and warmer air will result in minimal fire behavior and limited fire spread.
Lake Fire (Santa Barbara County, CA): nearly fully contained after starting July 5th and forcing evacuations in the county. Grew to over 38k acres
Sandhurst Fire (near SLC, UT): Started July 20th, and grew so rapidly that it prompted officers to go door to door to remind residents about their evacuation zones.
Northwest
Numerous large fires are burning in Oregon, producing large amounts of smoke. They include:
The Durkee Fire (eastern Oregon): moderate fire behavior is expected. Some containment has occurred, but the fire has now burned over 288k acres. A burn ban is in effect for all of Malheur County.
The Cow Valley Fire: the fire is now almost completely contained.
Falls Fire (13m north of Burns, OR): continues to burn with extremely unfavorable weather conditions for firefighters.
Lone Rock Fire (north-central Oregon): increased smokiness from other fires has suppressed the extreme fire conditions.
Battle Mountain Complex: consists of three fires, the North Fork Owens, the Snake Fire, and the Monkey Creek Fire near Ukiah, Oregon, and is 140+ acres
