Denver’s hazy shade of summer, courtesy of Wyoming’s wildfires, could continue until Friday afternoon, health authorities said Thursday.
Ozone levels will be in the moderate to unhealthy categories for people sensitive to air quality, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Regional Air Quality Council.
A health advisory remains in effect until 4 p.m. Friday for the Colorado Front Range north of Colorado Springs.
The department said that children and adults with respiratory illnesses, including asthma, should avoid heavy, prolonged outdoor activity between 1 p.m. and midnight Friday.
As , the culprit is a cold front that is pushing smoke south mostly from fires in Wyoming — the 9,085-acre Squirrel Creek fire near Laramie, the 88,000-acre Arapaho fire northwest of Wheatland and the 56,000-acre Oil Creek fire near Newcastle.
Colorado fires also are contributing, however, including light to moderate smoke near the 24,850-acre Little Sand fire near Pagosa Springs, the 18,247-acre Waldo Canyon fire on the west side of Colorado Springs and the 19,836-acre Wolf Den fire in Utah, according to the state health department.
In an “action alert,” the state health department warned all Coloradans, “If visibility is less than 5 miles in smoke in your neighborhood, smoke has reached levels that are unhealthy.”
The provides up-to-date statewide conditions, forecasts and advisories.
