Wildfire Smoke Caused Hundreds of Delays at DIA Earlier This Week
Several flights were canceled as well.
It feels like deja vu, but it's fire season and once again we have fires burning in the region. There are fires burning in the Pacific Northwest. Both the Dixie Wildfire and the Bootleg Wildfire have sent massive plumes of smoke into the air and eastward across the country.
This poor air quality prevented hundreds of flights at Denver International Airport from taking off as scheduled.
The Denver Post reported that nearly 300 flights were delayed earlier this week and eight were canceled altogether. According to a DIA spokesperson, smoke was a factor in these delays. This caused planes to have to take off more sporadically due to low visibility.
The airlines that were most affected were Southwest with 124 flights delayed, SkyWest with 79, and United Airlines with 44 flights delayed.
It wasn't just Colorado that was affected by the smoke.
The New York Times reported that smoke moved across the country into the northeast. Cities like New York, Philadelphia and even Toronto experiences poor air quality this week.
National Weather ServiceI would assume that most of that smoke is coming from the massive Bootleg Fire.
According to KOIN, this fire is one of the largest in Oregon's modern history. It's so large that it's generating its own weather. This makes the fire very erratic and tough to fight. Essentially, the fire launches a smoke column into the sky and creates a cloud. As the column collapses, the fire essentially uses it to propel itself forward.
After all of the fires we experiences last year, my prayer is that these and contained quickly.
The National Weather Service in Boulder provided some helpful links to stay up to date on these fires.