Fires from outside Summit County create hazy conditions
Photo by Jefferson Geiger / jgeiger@summitdaily.com
On Saturday, July 10, Summit County sent out a text alert reporting that smoke in the area is from fires outside the county and that there are no current fires within county limits.
According to a Facebook post from the Summit County’s Sheriff’s office, the haze is caused by major wildfires burning to the west of Colorado in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and California. The haze is also caused by the Sylvan Fire in neighboring Eagle County and the Morgan Creek Fire in North Routt County.
The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert that will last until at least 4 p.m. The service says the maximum temperature for the day is 85 degrees with a minimum temperature of 60 degrees.
On Friday, July 9, Summit County went from Stage 2 fire restrictions to Stage 1 restrictions. The move came after changes to the county’s four restriction criteria: energy release component, fuel moisture thresholds, weather patterns and the potential for human-caused ignitions.
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