JACKSON, Wyo. — Wildfire smoke in the valley obscured the area’s most photogenic vistas for much of July, leading some visitors to say, “Wait, where are the mountains?”
Buckrail photographer Nick Sulzer captured this phenomenon in his photos over the last week. Note the sharpness and vibrancy of the foreground compared with the faded mountain outlines in the background of these shots.
According to Buckrail Meteorologist Alan Smith, “wildfires in Eastern Oregon were the main culprit for much of the month, and more recently, the nearly 400,000-acre Park Fire in Northern California has been a major contributor” to smoky conditions in Jackson Hole.
Air quality has been an issue for sensitive groups of people in the area, rated as “moderate” by government monitoring sites for much of July. Luckily, August has brought with it a break in smoky conditions, and Jackson’s famously fresh air should be back to its old self soon.
