A smoky haze blanketed much of Salt Lake County on Wednesday, smothering the Wasatch Front and causing the air quality index to reach a high of 170, which is considered unhealthy for all groups.
Southwest winds carried the smoke from three active wildfires in southern California, traveling through Las Vegas up to Salt Lake City, said Hayden Mahan, Utah meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
As Thursday’s cold front enhanced southwesterly winds, Mahan said, it also helped reorient winds out of the northwest.
The air quality index Thursday afternoon had lowered to 37, which is considered “good,” at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
(Jae C. Hong | AP) Firefighters watch as the Bridge Fire burns near homes in Wrightwood, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.
Although some haze remains, forecasts predict ongoing northwest winds will carry less smoke as cooler weather helped subdue active fires in Oregon and Idaho.
“What we’re seeing outside [Thursday] is what we’ll continue to see over the next couple of days,” Mahan said. “We’re not going to expect to see smoke like we saw [Wednesday].”
Another cold front is expected to approach by late Monday, bringing an increase of southwesterly winds by Sunday. With cooler temperatures in southern California expected to last through the weekend, fire development is expected to calm.
But, Mahan cautions, if southwest fires continue to grow, Utahns should prepare to see more smoke move in.
“If another large wildfire does develop in the next couple of days, that could completely change our forecast,” Mahan said. “We obviously can’t predict what fires will develop in the next couple of days, so that’s something else to keep into consideration, [the] potential for other new wildfires to develop that could potentially spread smoke into our area.”