The Rim Fire started Aug. 17 and quickly exploded becoming one of the 10 largest California wildfires on record.
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Upper level winds can transport chemical matter (combustion products) emitted in a fire long distances, affecting air quality thousands of miles from the source. These model simulations of the transport of carbon monoxide from NASA, offer a clear illustration of the Rim Fire. \ See 'A Blazing Tour from Earth and Space':http:// |
#RimFire progression slowed earlier this week when it moved from parts of the forest with thick underbrush that had not burned in nearly a century to areas that had seen fire in the past two decades.
But it will burn for months, possibly until California's dry season ends this fall
"My prediction is it will burn until we see rain," said Hugh Safford, a regional ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service.
That means the smoke could continue to foul air north of Yosemite in the Lake Tahoe basin and neighboring Nevada for many months
The air quality index in the Reno area still had improved only to the "unhealthy" level, and in Douglas County, Nev., school children were kept indoors again when the index registered in the "hazardous" category.
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