Boise (670 KBOI) – It’s summer, which means wildfires across the West. That means smoky skies in the Treasure Valley — like we have today, and it can, and will, get even worse before summer ends.
Michael Toole with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality says while we are getting some “drainage” from fires in California and Oregon, there’s a new one straight up US-95 which is the biggest factor in today’s smoky air.
“We have a new fire up in Northern Idaho, by Riggins, the Rattlesnake Creek (Fire), and we have seen significant drainage from that,” said Toole. “That explains a little more the smoky haziness we’re seeing in the area. We expect that probably to continue, that, coupled with all the other ones we’re seeing. It’ll probably get a little smokier over the next couple of days, it may impact the forecast, raise it up a little bit.”
Toole says given the geography and weather patters in the West, wildfire smoke from across the region drains into the Treasure Valley.
If you’re new to the area, he says this is pretty much what you can expect every summer, and it gets even worse.
So, welcome to the Treasure Valley.
