STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTO BY ANNE JEFFERY

After a string of clear days, a little haze from the humongous Park Fire burning in California moved over the Wood River Valley Friday afternoon.

It had cleared out by Saturday morning, but then the Gardner Fire was reported three miles northwest of Picabo, giving folks in the south valley a smoke shot. The fire grew from 0.1 acres when first reported about 1:30 p.m. to 100 acres by 3 p.m. The fire on BLM land was estimated to be 520 acres by bedtime and 25 percent contained. The Bellevue area was under an extreme heat advisory during the afternoon, with a 96-degree temperature.

The fire was being fought by a type-two hand crew, six engines, two dozers and seven air tankers, according to the BLM.

Happily, the Blaine County Recreation District has installed air quality sensors at Quigley Trails Park and Galena Lodge to help residents figure out what kind of impact smoke from this and other fires is having. You can check them out at https://bcrd.org/webcams/.

Early Saturday morning the air quality at Quigley was rated 119, meaning the general public was not likely to be affected but members of sensitive groups could experience health effects if exposed 24 hours. It quickly decreased to 59, which is acceptable. It is 80 this morning, also in the acceptable range.

It was 142, at Galena Lodge, also in the moderate category, to start the day but decreased to 80 later in the morning. It is 85 this morning.

Meanwhile, KTVB News in Boise reported on Friday that high levels of COVID have been detected in Boise’s wastewater. It’s believed the high levels are due to Boiseans spending an inordinate amount of time indoors during Boise’s long spell of triple digit temperatures and smoke.