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SALT LAKE CITY -- A thick, brown haze blanketed the Salt Lake Valley Sunday, prompting the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to issue a "red" air advisory for five counties.
The advisory applied to Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Utah and Cache Counties. The DEQ advised those with respiratory or heart conditions, as well as children and the elderly, not to go outside for long periods of time.
"Today, it's bad up and down the Wasatch Front," said Bill Harned, an environmental scientist for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. "Personally, I wouldn't be out there running with air like this."
At one of the air monitoring stations in Salt Lake, pollutant levels measured an average of 60 micrograms per cubic meter. That's nearly twice the national standard of 35 micrograms.
The air filter used on Saturday was dark from pollution particulates. The filters, which start out white, were expected to be worse Sunday.
"Whatever you can do to limit what you do to pollute, don't burn your wood or coal burning stoves or fireplaces, just anything like that, anything you can do helps," Harned said.
The inversion hung over the Salt Lake Valley, but at the top of Snowbird, it was a different story. "It's just absolutely, it's just crystal clear up here," said Julian Trienekens, who is visiting from New York.
Another skier, Jill Richter, said, "I'm up here every day, but that's one reason that I'm up here every day, because I don't want to be down there."
The resort was a good escape for skiers and snowboarders, who could easily see the inversion from the top of the mountain.
"I want to hold my breath when I go down there," said Richter, who is from Sandy.
The bad air could be a good thing for skiers. On "red" air days, Snowbird offers adult customers a $20 discount on adult tram and chair lift passes. Many people like that idea.
"Snowbird gets more skiers, and everybody gets a break and gets a taste of fresh air," said Salt Lake City resident Kevin Coyle.
Sandy resident Bill Beninati agreed. "It helps raise people's awareness, the fact that there are these red air days out there and that the air doesn't have to look like that," he said.
Snowbird offers the discount on "red" air days, but customers have to ask for it when they buy their ticket. The resort is also encouraging customers to ride Utah Transit Authority buses.
Sunday was the 14th "red" air day in Salt Lake and Davis counties since November.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
