Drought, heat and wind are the worst possible combination for wildfires, and explosive fire behavior is launching smoke high into the atmosphere.
CNN meteorologist Chad Myers experienced the otherworldly phenomenon wildfire smoke creates."Last week I spent time in the Vail Valley of Colorado.No blue sky, no stars above, and a faint smell of smoke," Myers recounted.
Colorado has seen four of its top five largest wildfires in the last three years, in 2018 and 2020 during the record-breaking wildfire season nationwide."It was startling, to say the least, waking up to the smell of smoke, said Myers, who called it "unnerving, especially in the mountains, because it means you are downwind of something on fire."Those on the East Coast may not have a "go bag" prepped and ready to evacuate at a moments notice, but an air quality alert on a smart phone or the blazing red sunset is a visual reminder of the nationwide struggle to conquer the seemingly insatiable infernos in the West.