The biggest fires burning in Colorado may be more than 100 miles away from Ouray County, but the effects are evident in the hazy film covering the mountains at a distance and the sun glowing like the eye of Sauron as it rises every morning.

Air quality during fire season has become a health concern in western Colorado as fires in nearby counties, including the Pine Gulch Fire which has grown to an estimated 125,ooo acres since it started July 31 near the Mesa-Garfield county border. Continued hot...