Where is the smoke from Salt Lake City’s July wildfires coming from?

Salt Lake City’s hazy skies are likely to look even worse Monday night and Tuesday as smoke from wildfires in northern California, Oregon and Washington moves east.

“It looks like it’s going to intensify a little bit, especially tonight, and it’s going to be pretty dense throughout the day (Tuesday),” said Jon Wilson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City office.

According to the Utah Division of Air Quality, the air will likely be unhealthy for sensitive groups over the next three days in Salt Lake County.

It’s hard to predict when that smoke might clear, Wilson said. But he expects the air Wednesday and Thursday “will probably remain relatively hazy,” though less dense than Tuesday.

And unlike winter inversions that trap pollution deep in the valley, wildfire smoke is “just as dispersed” throughout the region. That means Utahns can’t just head to the mountains to escape it.

Salt Lake City residents trying to decide whether to hit the trails or exercise outdoors can look for a few signs, said Bryce Bird, director of the Utah Division of Air Quality.

“When you can see the smoke but you can’t smell it,” Bird said, “it’s usually in the yellow (moderate) range of the air quality index.”

When you smell smoke and start to feel irritation in your lungs, “that’s usually when we hit the highest levels and you need to start taking some precautions,” Bird said.

Precautions against summer ozone pollution and PM 2.5 from wildfire smoke are the same: avoid exercising outdoors, especially in the afternoon when ozone levels are highest.

“If you exercise, do it early in the morning or late in the evening,” Bird said, “because ozone values ​​drop when sunlight is not as intense and doesn’t form this pollutant in the atmosphere.”

Each day, the Utah Division of Air Quality updates air quality conditions every hour. Utahns can view conditions here.