Smoke from California and Oregon resulted in smoky air across northern Utah Friday, Aug. 6, 2021. Smoke is expected back into Utah by Sunday, Aug, 22, 2021. Photo: Heather Kelly, KSL
SALT LAKE CITY — A cool front moving into northern Utah means a cooler day for the Wasatch Front, with highs in the 80s instead of near 100, but it also means the unwelcome return of smoky air.
Some KSL NewsRadio listeners reported a metallic “taste” to the air as they ventured out Friday morning. KSL 5 Meteorologist Grant Weyman says the smoke is not from any reported local fires, but from California wildfires.
“It appears as though the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys are getting the worst of the smoke. This front pushing in is allowing all this smoke to get in and down to the ground level. In addition to that, the high level winds are blowing in from the north and west as well, bringing in smoke from the west, and that cold front moving through is moving it to the ground. We are definitely seeing and feeling it,” says Weyman.
Grant says he’s never seen the air quality this bad, even on a bad inversion day in the winter.
The Salt Lake County Emergency Management Bureau said in a tweet the air quality would deteriorate throughout the day, as winds from the north and west continue to push smoky air from California and Oregon into northern Utah.
Wildfires across the west have created plumes of smoke that have wafted across the country.
According to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Friday is a “red” mandatory action day for air quality, meaning people with sensitivities, such as the very young, elderly, or those with underlying health conditions, should avoid outdoor recreation.
Currently the air quality is considered unhealthy for all people, however, not just sensitive groups.