Smoke blown in from fires in California and Siberia created a lingering haze over the La Plata Mountains on Monday evening and into Tuesday.
The jet stream can bring both smoke and storms from Siberia to the United States, said Julie Malingowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The Siberian smoke reached the Pacific Northwest over the weekend, according to NASA satellite imagery.
More recent satellite imagery showed some smoke reaching the Four Corners, Malingowski said.
The Siberian fire, now extinguished, left 5,000 people homeless, and impacted 38 villages. It will take about $94 million to rebuild housing in the area, according to The Associated Press.
Wind from the west also is bringing smoke from a fire in Southern California.
A fire that started Saturday had burned more than a thousand acres southeast of Los Angeles by Monday, the AP reported.
A storm that could bring rain to the region Wednesday could help improve air-quality conditions around Durango, Malingowski said.
“I would imagine it would at least temporarily improve conditions,” she said.
But the best chance for rain is Saturday, she said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
On the Net
Ozone Mapping and profile suite: http://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps/blog/2015/04/siberian-smoke-continues-over-us