More wildfire smoke headed to the Wasatch Front
Aug 28, 2024, 1:00 PM
FILE: Air quality is poor due to wildfire smoke in the Salt Lake Valley on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Enjoy these clear skies while you can. More wildfire smoke is on its way to the Wasatch Front.
According to KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson, wildfire smoke starts to build in as early as tomorrow afternoon. Utahns can expect the smoke to stick around as University of Utah kicks off their season Thursday night at Rice Eccles Stadium.
“We’ve got the Wapiti fire up in Idaho near the town of Stanley that’s been burning. It really took off within the last 36 hours. It’s been pumping out quite a bit of smoke,” said Johnson.
According to Johnson, a cool front coming in today will switch the winds to the north west and bring smoke in as early as tomorrow afternoon.
“If that smoke kind of drifts up to the upper levels, it might not be as noticeable. It could just be a kind of a chalky look to the sky,” said Johnson.
The Wasatch Front could hit the yellow or moderate air quality range as the smoke passes through. The smoke could start to clear out by Sunday or Monday.
How much wildfire smoke will we get?
“There is still burning down towards Sequoia National Park. The thing that worries me in trying to throw in the towel just yet on fire season is California. Fire season can go and even peaks in September and October, especially in Southern California,” said Johnson.
“So depending on what the weather pattern does on a large scale, we could still see smoke not from our own fires, but probably from the West Coast, specifically California. That’s still in the cards.”
