Dome Fire Closes Glacier Point Road and Cows on the Gold Mountain Fire

Today's news runs from smoke closing a road in Yosemite to an unusual fire crew in western Colorado. Oregon gets another round of rain, and a poll in a closely watched Colorado district finds broad support for cleaner air.

Dome Fire smoke closes Glacier Point Road in Yosemite

Yosemite National Park closed Glacier Point Road on Wednesday night because smoke from the Dome Fire cut visibility, and to keep firefighting operations safe, the New York Post reports. The fire started September 15 north of Wawona Dome near the Chilnualna Falls Trailhead and had burned more than 4,000 acres as of Thursday, according to CalFire.

The closure covers the 16-mile road from Wawona Road to Glacier Point, and several trails south of it are also closed, with smoke making air quality unhealthy in some places at times. Two helicopter crew members, Greg King and Ryan Cutter, were killed on September 20 when their aircraft crashed while fighting the fire. If you're visiting the park, check current closures and air conditions before heading out.

Cattle help hold a Gold Mountain Fire line in Colorado

On the Gold Mountain Fire in western Colorado, 350 cattle wearing GPS collars are grazing down the "fine fuels" along a three-mile fire line on the Big Cimarron River, according to an opinion piece in the Boulder Daily Camera. The idea came from a U.S. Forest Service range manager, who saw the cattle as a safer option than setting a back burn.

The solar-powered collars let range riders draw virtual fences on a phone app and track each animal. The fire was 87% contained when the cattle arrived in mid-August and was 93% contained by mid-September.

Another round of rain for Oregon

Oregon is forecast to get about half an inch of rain in the Willamette Valley and around an inch in the mountains from the evening of September 24 through September 25, the Salem Statesman Journal reports. Gusts could reach 30 mph in the valley, with localized power outages possible.

A wetter-than-normal September has helped dampen wildfire danger and improve drought conditions. Salem has had 1.85 inches of rain this month so far, against a normal of about 1 inch by this date.

Colorado's 8th District voters back action on air pollution

A University of Maryland poll of 500 voters in Colorado's closely split 8th Congressional District found broad support across party lines for government action on air pollution, the Denver Post reports. The poll was conducted in May and June.

It found that 91% of Democratic-leaning and 80% of Republican-leaning voters in the district say reducing air pollution should be a high priority for the government.

Amazon fires send smoke over Manaus

As fires spread across the Amazon at the peak of its dry season, smoke blanketed the Brazilian city of Manaus on Wednesday and pushed air quality to unhealthy levels, according to the monitoring service IQAir, the Associated Press reports via the Boston Herald. The report came as a new fund aiming to raise $100 million for firefighting in South America was announced at New York Climate Week.

The fund does not cover forests in Africa or Southeast Asia, where large fires in Indonesia have raised public health concerns over haze across the region.

Sources

Dome Fire shuts down major Yosemite road — New York Post
Why the Forest Service called in the cows when the Gold Mountain Fire was almost contained (Opinion) — Boulder Daily Camera
Oregon forecast to see another hit of rain and wind before weekend — Salem Statesman Journal
8th District voters want more environmental protections, regulations — The Denver Post
Firefighting fund launches but funding gap remains as wildfires worsen — The Boston Herald

Canairy aggregates publicly reported air-quality and wildfire news and summarizes it in plain English, with links to the original sources. This is educational information, not medical or emergency advice. In a wildfire or air-quality emergency, follow guidance from local authorities.