The air quality has declined in La Plata and San Juan counties as a result of wildfire smoke blanketing much of the Western Slope.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued an air quality health advisory for wildfire Smoke on Monday morning for 19 counties closest to the fires burning in Ouray, Dolores County and Aspen Plains.
In La Plata County, the AQI was 79, classified as moderate according to the Ute 3 AQI monitor located just south of Sunnyside Mesa. The primary pollutant is PM 2.5, microscopic airborne particles or droplets 2.5 micrometers or less in width, that are produced by combustion processes such as wildfire.
The county and the town of Durango is expected to avoid the majority of the smoke on Monday, as the area is south of the fires and southwesterly winds are expected to blow most of the smoke in the other direction, said Gillian Felton, meteorologist at National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
That may change Tuesday, as the wind changes direction, she said.
In Silverton, the AQI was significantly higher at 117, and classified as being unhealthy for sensitive groups, according to the Telluride Health Department Monitor. The town, less than 30 miles from Ouray, where the 28,000 acre Gold Mountain Fire is burning, has been covered in smoke on-and-off since last week.
CDPHE recommended people remain indoors if smoke is thick, especially people with heart disease, respiratory illnesses, young children and older adults. The advisory will lift Tuesday morning.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
