Many Basin residents were surprised and alarmed by the smokey haze and visible ash that fell after the Dollar Ridge Fire started and thankfully the skies look much clearer now than before. This doesn’t, however, mean that air quality isn’t still affected “The smoke is a lot less than it has been but we still have some wildfire smoke in the area and particulate matter levels are still higher than would be normal without wildfires,” shares USU-Uintah Basin Bingham Research Center Director Seth Lyman. “Unfortunately, this could be the case for the rest of the summer. Even if the Utah wildfire season calms down,” Lyman continues, “ smoke plumes from other states can blow into our area, leading to impaired visibility and impaired air quality.” Those interested, can keep up to date on air quality numbers at
ubair.usu.edu
.
