Poor Air Quality in Fort Collins As New Wildfire Breaks Out West of Granby
Expect a hazy start to the week in Larimer County, the National Weather Service said. Along with smoke from out-of-state fires (mostly in California), now some of the haze in the area is from a wildfire burning west of the Fort Collins area in Grand County.
According to the Incident Information System, the Black Mountain Fire west of Granby was first reported around 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 29. As of Monday morning, the fire was burning around 150 acres in size, mostly on National Forest land, as well as some Bureau of Land Management areas. As of Monday, there are pre-evacuation orders in Grand County, and the cause is still unknown.
The National Weather Service said that 'Boulder and Larimer Counties may see increased smoke from this fire' during Monday and Tuesday's dry conditions. On Wednesday, however, it's predicted that Colorado will see a surge of moisture, and possibly even monsoonal weather.
The smoke may be visibly bad or just kind of 'gross' in the Northern Colorado area today, but the City of Fort Collins says that air quality is in the yellow, or 'acceptable.'
'However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution,' the City of Fort Collins' website says. Looking at the air quality webcam at New Belgium Brewing, you can just barely see Longs Peak today, and even the 'A' on the side of the foothills is visible — which is actually better than it's been recently. And, remember Labor Day weekend last year? It could be worse.
2020 Cameron Peak Fire