Smoke is hanging over southwest Boise after weekend hay fire. This is how long it’ll last

A haystack fire in southwest Boise continued to burn safely Monday afternoon, two days after Boise Fire Department firefighters responded to the blaze at the south end of South Maple Grove Road late Saturday night.

The fire burned more than 200 tons of hay before firefighters got the blaze under control. But even with the fire under control, hay continues to smolder, causing smoke issues throughout southwest Boise.

The Boise Fire Department tweeted Sunday that lingering smoke will “remain in the area” for the next couple of days. On Monday afternoon, Boise Police Department spokesperson Haley Kramer confirmed to the Idaho Statesman that “the hay is continuing to safely burn, and crews are currently working to move the burning materials. The smoke is expected to dissipate over the next day or two.”

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Reddit users close to the fire have complained of the smoke causing issues such as headaches and smoke alarms continually going off.

One user said that the Charter Pointe subdivision, just south of where the fire occurred, is “choked with smoke.”

The PM 2.5 air quality monitor, which monitors fine particulate matter found in smoke, located west of the fire, showed good air quality as of Monday afternoon. On Monday morning, the monitor was reading in the yellow category, which warns people unusually sensitive to smoke to reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.

“It’s recommended that all nearby residents keep their doors and windows shut and avoid spending an extended period of time outside until the smoke has cleared,” Kramer said.

Why is the smoke sticking around?

Weather conditions around Boise aren’t helping to dissipate the smoke, either.

According to Stephen Parker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boise, the region will remain stagnant until at least Wednesday.

“Right now we’ve got a light southeast wind in Boise,” Parker said. “But it’s only about 4 miles an hour, so it’s not spreading the smoke out very fast.”

A southeast wind means the wind is coming from the south and slowly blowing the smoke to the northwest toward Meridian.

“We are expecting fairly stagnant conditions to continue through Wednesday,” Parker said, “ and possibly into Thursday, due to a very strong upper-level ridge that is parked pretty much right over us.”