BOISE, Idaho — We could have literally "seen" this one coming, with all of the smoke and haze reducing visibility around the area; an AIR QUALITY ALERT was posted for Southern Idaho until further notice through Monday afternoon.
The smoke is heavy in the air, prompting Southern Idaho fire officials to ask sensitive groups to limit the amount of time they spend outdoors.
While there are several fires burning throughout Idaho, the smoke is not only coming from them alone.
There is some surface smoke that's draining in from wildfires burning in Eastern Oregon, but the bulk of the dirty skies is due to an upper-level SW flow that's bringing in smoke from Northern California.
This upper-level SW flow is expected to continue through the first half of the week. That means that it will take until Wednesday, at the earliest, to hope for any improvement.
The DEQ of Idaho has a forecast for the Treasure Valley in the "orange" category for the next few days, which is "unhealthy for sensitive groups."
For an interactive forecast for different areas around Idaho, and a breakdown of the levels of air quality, use this link.
The Boise Fire Department is recommending Idahoans take all necessary precautions to keep themselves via Twitter.
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