SALT LAKE CITY — Plumes of smoke visible near Salt Lake City International Airport in recent days are from controlled agricultural burns targeting an invasive weed.
Fox 13 has fielded calls from concerned viewers since Thursday regarding the plume, or sometimes plumes, of smoke and Salt Lake City Fire officials said there is no cause for alarm.
There are several duck clubs in the area that are carrying out the burns. Dave Terrion, a permit holder for one of the burns and a member of Rudy Duck Club, said they aren’t burning Saturday but have been recently and will be in the coming weeks.
While he didn’t have a precise schedule for the upcoming burns, he said they have a permit to continue doing so through next month.
Fire officials said the burns are targeting an invasive plant called phragmites. The burns happen each year. Wildlife officials said the weed grows so fast it overwhelms other plants in the wetlands around Great Salt Lake.
