Dust, smoke blend to cloud valley vista

Monday, April 16, 2001 | 11:09 a.m.

A mix of dust and smoke has enveloped the Las Vegas Valley in a dense haze that could continue throughout the week, experts said.

The dust, which followed the jet stream from Asia, descended on Southern Nevada on Sunday. The dust combined with smoke from controlled brush burns in Arizona brought in from the south by wind.

The controlled burns were ordered this year to remove dead brush and grass in Arizona and New Mexico after forest fires last year in Los Alamos, N.M., burned out of control.

The Clark County Health District had not issued a health advisory this morning, spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore said. Unhealthful readings were recorded at Paul Meyer Park between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road near Rainbow Boulevard and near Las Vegas City Hall.

The Las Vegas Valley's atmosphere will remain stable, which means winds won't help move the dirty air until the end of the week, a National Weather Service forecaster said. Meteorologist Steve Downs said today the dense haze could hang around until Friday or Saturday, when a storm could clear the air and wash the particles out of the sky.

"It's pretty widespread and it's dense," Downs said of the murky air.

Nevada's hazy skies were not caused by fire smoke alone.

A haze across Northern Nevada originated in the Gobi Desert in China, and some of that dust has settled in Southern Nevada, Kelly Redmond of the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno said.

The dust caught the jet stream from China and fell as a fine white powder in Northern Nevada; no rain storms were present to wash it out over the Pacific Ocean, Redmond said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service imposed open burning restrictions on the Spring Mountains starting Sunday and continuing through Nov. 15.

All wood and charcoal fires are prohibited, Forest Service spokesman Lee Nelson said. Propane stoves are acceptable. Areas affected include locations west and next to Deer Creek highway, also known as State Route 158. The area includes Kyle and Lee canyons.

Areas within a one-mile radius of communities at Cold Creek, Mountain Springs and Trout Canyon are also included, Nelson said. The restrictions are in place to protect residents of those areas from human-caused fires during the dry summer season, he said.

Campground areas in which users pay a fee, such as Kyle, Fletcher and Hilltop campgrounds, and picnic areas such as Cathedral Rock, Deer Creek and Old Mill, are not affected by the restrictions, Nelson said.

Violating the order can result in fines ranging from $250 to $10,000 and can include a prison term of six months.