This is why the skies are hazy over Boise. Check out our interactive wildfire map

Sarah A. Miller/smiller@idahostatesman.com

Treasure Valley residents are waking up to hazy skies Wednesday morning as smoke from the several large fires in Central Idaho will drift over the region.

The Four Corners Fire near the border of the Payette and Boise national forests — not far from Lake Cascade — poses the main threat of smoke to the region. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire had burned 1,757 acres and continued growing to the south and west.

The smaller Ross Fork Fire, which had burned approximately 200 acres near Pocatello as of Tuesday afternoon, is also contributing to smoke across the Treasure Valley.

The smoke coming into the Boise area shouldn’t affect visibility near the ground, but it will be noticeable in the sky, according to Josh Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boise.

“You may not see the top of Bogus (Basin), or it will be hazy for some of the mountains off in the distance, but that’s about it,” Smith said.

The Weather Service forecasts that smoke will persist over the Treasure Valley through Thursday, and Smith expects the thickest of the haze to be on Wednesday morning.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality issued a moderate air quality advisory for the Treasure Valley on Wednesday, meaning those “unusually sensitive” to smoke should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.

The Four Corners and Ross Fork fires are just two of 36 fires burning in Idaho, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The largest is the Moose Fire in Lemhi County, which had burned 78,084 acres as of Tuesday afternoon.

A fire near the Sawtooth Mountains has also closed down several popular trails, including routes to Alpine Lake, Sawtooth Lake and Goat Lake.

The following interactive map uses data from NIFC to pinpoint active fires in Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The map updates daily and details the wildfire’s name, cause and acres burned.

Advertisement