More than 500 flights in Denver, Colorado were delayed following the wildfire smoke that moved from the Pacific Northwest. Newsweek reported that airport officials confirmed the said delays, citing visibility issues caused by the smoke.

National Weather Service noted that the smoke from several wildfires occurring in the Pacific Northwest moved through Colorado and created hazy skies.

"The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has implemented a traffic management program for arriving flights due to the haze [and] smoke," Denver International Airport spokesperson, Alex Renteria, was quoted in a report from the Denver Post.

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Wildfire Smoke Causes Delays and Cancellations in Denver International Airport

As of this writing, Flight Aware recorded at least 514 delays at Denver International Airport, with at least 15 flight cancellations within, into, or out of the United States.

Renteria also noted that whether more flights would be delayed throughout the day will depend on the weather and wind patterns. National Weather Service on the other hand expected that the wildfire smoke would continue to move to Colorado through Monday.

"It will remain mostly aloft but be very noticeable at sunrise and sunset especially," NWS Boulder said. The agency also posted a view to the east showing layers of smoke in the skies.

The delayed flights were from 13 airlines, with Southwest, SkyWest, United, Commutair, American, and Frontier Airlines having the largest number of delays.

Southwest had 199 flights delayed; SkyWest had 127; United Airlines had 96; Commutair had 23; American Airlines had 21; Frontier had at least 21 flights delayed.

Other Airlines who were affected by the delays in Denver, Colorado are Alaska Airlines, Delta, Jet Blue, Jazz, Sun Country Airlines, Allegiant Air, and Air Canada.

Meanwhile, 5 Airlines had their flights canceled, including Frontier, SkyWest, Southwest, Commutair, and American Airlines.

In the wake of the delayed flights in Denver, Colorado, Rentaria urged the people to always check their flight status with their airline, before heading to the airport.

Wildfires in the West Continues

The flights that were delayed over smoke and visibility concerns, came as wildfires in the western region of the U.S. continue to char acres of land. Newsweek noted that the Bootleg Fire in Oregon remained to be the largest active fire in the nation and has charred about 475 square miles of land in the area.

Furthermore, the Bootleg fire was also reported to destroy at least 67 homes and more than 100 buildings, prompting at least 2,000 people to evacuate. As of June 18, the wildfire in Oregon was 22 percent contained.

Apart from Oregon, firefighters were also battling a wildfire in California called Tamarack Fire, as it grew with more than 20,00 acres.

It can be remembered that a mentioned report from Congressional Research Service Fact Sheet revealed that an average of 62,805 wildfires occurs annually in the U.S. Meanwhile, 7.5 million acres of land were affected yearly from 2011-2020. However, in 2020, 70 percent of the lands burned nationwide were owned by the state.

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This article is owned by Latin Post

Written By: Joshua Summers

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