Smoke drifting into eastern Summit County through November is coming from planned burns, not wildfires.

Crews are conducting prescribed burns along Mirror Lake Highway (SR-150) in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, and the work is expected to continue through November, weather permitting, KPCW's Sydney Weaver reported Friday, Sept. 18.

The burns stretch well beyond the highway corridor. Crews will also work in the Burnt Beaver area, the north side of the West Fork of the Duchesne River and west of Current Creek Reservoir, according to the report. Several of those sites sit on the eastern slope of the Uinta Mountains, where smoke can drift west over the ridgeline and settle into Summit County valleys.

Summit County posted a burn notice on its official Facebook page Thursday, Sept. 17, warning that residents in eastern Summit County and Uinta County, Wyoming, may see or smell smoke drifting over the mountains from the prescribed fires.

Don't report the smoke

Summit County is asking residents not to report the smoke. The burns are planned and monitored by forest crews.

No agency statement specifies the acreage or stated goals for these particular burn operations. No specific schedule for individual burns has been released beyond the November window.

How to stay informed

Residents who want advance notice can sign up for the county's fire text alert system. Text SCFIRE to 91896 to receive non-emergency notifications. The county's alert page says the text line covers red flag warnings, prescribed burn updates and active fire information.

The alerts are free and designed for residents who live near fire-prone terrain or who spend time in the backcountry along the Mirror Lake Highway corridor. That stretch of SR-150 runs east from Kamas into the high Uintas and is one of the most-traveled recreation routes in Summit County.

Residents along the eastern slope should expect intermittent smoke through the fall as burn conditions allow.