Half of Utah County is on Fire--Air Quality is BAD

Friday Morning when I went to Adam's so Mary could take the boys to school, the
smoke was so bad in Orem, it hurt my lungs.  I have never had pneumonia and
can't believe how much this hurts me.  Friday morning the wind was blowing all
the fire smoke north and Orem and Utah County north were eating and breathing
the fire smoke more than the people closer to the fire.

By Afternoon you couldn't taste the smoke when you went outside in Orem,
 but the air quality was
still really bad.  I went out Saturday to get a mask and eye drops.  Walmart said they
were out of masks and wouldn't get any in until Sunday night so they wouldn't be in
the store until Monday.  Mark found a package of 2 somewhere in the store and we
bought them and then I bought a large bottle of liquid tear eye drops too.

This morning our apartment is filled with smoke, despite the fact we have had a
clean air purifier going for a week.  When Mark gets up we can go get a filter for
the air purifier.

I can't find out this morning if any homes have burned.   Both of these fires are
in Utah County.

Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee issued a crisis declaration Saturday morning hoping to get more firefighting resources and generate public awareness about the dangerous fires that have burned a combined 80,000 acres and caused evacuations.

The Pole Creek Fire burned 62,844 acres.

The Bald Mountain Fire, burning just to the east, burned 17,760 acres.

These fire evacuations were as of Saturday Sept. 16.

Fire officials anticipate closures and evacuations will remain in place for at least another 48 hours. The following evacuations and closures are still in place:

-Santaquin Canyon is closed.

-Payson Canyon is closed.

-Nebo Loop Road at SR-132 in Nephi Canyon is closed.

-US Highway 89, in Spanish Fork Canyon, is closed from mile 312, at Thistle Junction, to mile 298, at the Utah /Sanpete County line.

-US Highway 6 through Spanish Fork Canyon is now closed as of 1:21 PM.

-Diamond Fork Canyon and Sheep Creek are now, as of 1:21 PM, under pre-evacuation notice.

-MANDATORY EVACUATION STILL IN EFFECT – PLEASE ABIDE BY CLOSURE AND EVACUATION NOTICES:

-All residents living along US HWY-89 in the area from Nebo Creek to Thistle Junction.

-All residents in Covered Bridge community near the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon.

-All residents living in the cities of Woodland Hills and Elk Ridge.

Herald Extra.com Pole Creek Fire within 1/2 mile of residences