Western wildfires decrease air quality

Active wildfires across the U.S. and Canada are decreasing air quality across the West, Great Basin and the Plains.

Wildfires have filled the skies across the West, Great Basin and Plains with haze and smoke. As of Wednesday morning, there were 88 active large wildfires burning in the U.S., with the largest being the Durkee fire near the Oregon-Idaho border.

The Durkee fire has prompted closures on I-84 and other roads in eastern Oregon. A snapshot of yesterday's WeatherRadar shows thunderstorms, dry thunderstorms and pyrocumulus clouds, all of which can create new wildfires.

Lower air quality is also a significant concern, even hundreds of miles away from the fires. Lower air quality is a significant concern from the Northeast to as far east as Colorado. Our app's air quality tool shows unhealthy to very unhealthy air quality in Boise, Idaho, and across the Denver metro through the weekend.