Smoke from wildfires in northern Alberta has drifted down into Montana and Wyoming in recent days.
"The smoke has worked pretty hard to reduce visibility in the last couple of days," says Kelly a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Riverton. "It’s not having a whole lot of effects otherwise in terms of particulates in the air or other health effects because the smoke is coming from so far away.”
It’s not uncommon for fires in far-flung locations to send smoke toward Wyoming. Allen says fires in Vietnam and Laos also resulted in several days of reduced visibility this spring. She expects the Alberta smoke to start clearing out over the weekend, but the respite may not last.
“We’re starting to get a lot drier and those fuels are starting to dry out and with the extremely warm temperatures and low humidities we’re expecting this weekend, in addition to the fireworks activity, we could be starting more fires,” Allen says.
The National Weather Service is recommending that people be extremely careful when using fireworks or lighting campfires on the Fourth of July to avoid setting blazes.