Wildfire smoke continues to impact Utahns on both sides of the Wasatch Mountains this week, but a winter storm should help clear things up soon.
The Yellow Lake Fire near Francis in Summit County grew to 31,000 acres as weekend winds and warm temperatures continued to fuel the blaze that has been going since Sept. 28.
In communities near the fire, from Kamas to Tabiona, officials cautioned people to avoid being outside in the morning and early afternoon due to air quality levels deemed “unhealthy” for most groups.
“It’s worse in the morning. We’re seeing improvements during the days. And then it’s worse again at night,” said Carolyn Kelly, a Department of Natural Resources air resource advisor on the Yellow Lake Fire. We’re in a pattern where we have this big plume going up. Then at night, the inversion comes in, the smoke settles down and it goes down valley and it impacts the communities.”
In other words, Kelly said, wait until after lunch to walk your dog or run errands.
Along the Wasatch Front, meanwhile, smoke from the Yellow Lake Fire and the 1,000-acre Cherry Creek Fire in Juab County was expected to create hazy — but less harmful — conditions by Monday evening, said Christine Kruse, the lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City. The Air Quality Index was “moderate” in Salt Lake County on Monday morning.
It’s hard to tell just how long that smoke will linger.
“It’s so dependent on fire behavior that it’s hard to model,” she said. “We’re just going to have to see what the various fires do.”
But forecasters expect a storm to hit by Thursday night, which should bring some relief.
With snow expected above 5,500 feet. Kruse said that could mean some snowflakes in the air along the benches and between 6-12 inches in the Cottonwood canyons.
“It should be a decent snowstorm,” she said. “If people aren’t used to driving in the snow — and they aren’t — this is just a reminder that we need to start driving like it’s winter.”
