greets Castle Valley this morning. While the colorful refraction of the Sun’s rays through the smoke plume can be lovely, I still prefer smoke free skies.
ADDED: Mid-day smoke plume map. Air quality this afternoon has significantly deteriorated and is horrible. It’s going to be one of those summers.
Another indispensable website and app during fire season: Watch Duty. I highly recommend an annual membership for $25 to support their valuable work (no commission earned).
ADDED: Mid-afternoon satellite image of smoke plume from the Cottonwood Fire near Beaver, Utah.
The La Sal Mountains have nearly vanished in the thick smoky haze at 3:00 pm MDT.
Downwinders: Air quality is now well into the unhealthy range in the Moab - Castle Valley area and likely to get worse. Here’s the smoke plume at 5:00 pm MDT. Round Mountain has completely disappeared from view.
24 June 2026 UPDATE: Shortly after sunrise, around 7:00 am MDT. Air quality remains firmly in the unhealthy category. Ugh.