Utah Wildfires Are Sending Smoke Into Southern Wyoming

Superman would have hated Wyoming this past Monday. That's because a red sun is not good for his powers. I'll explain that, but first...

Smoke from forest fires out west of Wyoming gave the Cowboy State a hazy sky and turned the Sun red.

Currently, most of the smoke covering Wyoming is coming from UTAH. Oregon and Washington state have many fires burning, but that smoke is currently going over us. For now, it is anyway.

The southern half of Wyoming has the worst of it. That would be from Casper on Down. Anything above Casper will still be able to tell that they have a smoky, hazy sky. It just won't be as intense. You can view a smoke map at this link.

Cooler air pushing in from the north will help Wyoming for a day or so. But as we warm back up later this week, that wind will come from the west again, and it will drag smoke with it.

Those with breathing problems, you can view an air quality index for your area at this link.

So why does Superman hate a red sun? Way back in Action Comics #1 in 1938, Superman could not fly. His original power was massive leg strength, allowing him to "leap tall buildings in a single bound" and travel an eighth of a mile at a time. He was from a planet that was denser than Earth, so Earth's lighter gravity made him seem super compared to us. Later, as they kept giving Superman more powers, the writers needed a new explanation. So they said it was our yellow sun that supercharged him. Planet Krypton had a red sun. Kryptonians are like normal humans when they are under a red sun.

The Casper/Natrona County International Airport is enjoying its upgraded firefighting planes.

Nobody likes a summer fire, but it does keep the airport busy with interesting water bombers coming and going.

The airport has been posting photos and videos of these fantastic planes on its Facebook page.

For several years, the two firefighting planes would arrive for fire season and park in a temporary area on the east corner of the airport.

They would run a long hose from a fire hydrant to a holding tank to refill the planes for another fire run.

Yes, the big boys have found a new home in central Wyoming.

While stationed in Casper, these serious firefighting machines have a long range and can fight across several states.

Before the new facilities she built at the fire season's end, they would pack up and go home.

Photo By Tim Mandese, Focus West Photography

Now, for some of these planes, Casper is home.

Now, they have a permanent base at the airport, and they no longer need to run a long hose to a fire hydrant.

After six years of planning, designing, and construction, the Airport grounds are now the home base for a new BLM Single Engine Air Tankers (SEAT) and Large Air Tankers (LAT) Base.

HOLD ON- what is a SEAT and LAT base?

It's a base that loads firefighting aircraft with anything they need, from water to chemicals, to fight fires. That's the simplest, nontechnical explanation there is.

Below is the new cover photo for the Casper/Natrona County Airport.

The facility was constructed in Collaboration with BLM, Wyoming State Forestry Division, and U.S. Forest Service.

It is the only base in the country jointly built by the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service.

Below is an exciting video of a firefighting plane from Casper in action.

Casper is also the exclusive home to two SEAT planes, contracted by the Wyoming State Forestry Division.

The modernized base now has the ability to load two planes (SEAT and/or LAT) at the same time with a maximum daily output of 80,000–90,000 gallons of mixed retardant compared to the previous 15,000-gallon output.