Colorado Air Pollution Control Division – Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment

July 16, 2025, 8 a.m. – An air quality health advisory for wildfire smoke issued for Mesa, Garfield, Eagle, Pitkin, Lake, Delta, Gunnison, Chaffee, Montrose, San Miguel and Ouray counties.

Affected area: Mesa, Garfield, Eagle, Pitkin, Lake, Delta, Gunnison, Chaffee, Montrose, San Miguel and Ouray Counties. Locations include, but are not limited to Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Eagle, Vail, Aspen, Leadville, Delta, Gunnison, Buena Vista, Salida, Montrose, Nucla, Telluride, and Ouray.

Advisory in effect: 8 a.m. MDT, Wednesday, July 16, 2025 to 9 a.m. MDT, Thursday, July 17, 2025

Public health recommendations: If smoke is thick or becomes thick in your neighborhood you may want to remain indoors. This is especially true for those with heart disease, respiratory illnesses, the very young, and older adults. Consider limiting outdoor activity when moderate to heavy smoke is present. Consider relocating temporarily if smoke is present indoors and is making you ill. If visibility is less than 5 miles in smoke in your neighborhood, smoke has reached levels that are unhealthy.

Outlook: Multiple wildfires will produce periods of moderate to heavy smoke across the advisory area through early Thursday morning. The heaviest smoke impacts will likely be in close proximity to the South Rim fire in eastern Montrose County, the Sowbelly Fire and Turner Gulch fires in southern Mesa County, and areas directly downwind of the Deer Creek fire in Montrose and San Miguel Counties. Thunderstorms are possible near the fires on Wednesday, and may produce gusty, erratic winds that can send smoke in any direction.