Colorado Wildfire Smoke Hits Denver

Smoke from the Colorado wildfires hit Denver this morning.

Downtown Denver was shrouded in an orange glow early Tuesday before a blanket of cold air trapping the fire pollution began to rise. The foothills stretching north to Fort Collins were virtually obscured by smoke, while closer to the 68-square-mile blaze, visibility on some highways was just a mile.

State health officials urged the elderly, children and those prone to asthma to stay indoors.

"The rule is if you can see or smell smoke, stay inside," Boulder County health specialist Chana Goussetis told the Daily Camera.

Yet many Denverites went about business as usual, bicycling to work and jogging along the many paths through the city.

.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell announced late Monday the agency was contracting eight heavy air tankers to increase the aging national fleet to 17.

Still, Colo. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet urged President Barack Obama to sign a bill that would allow the Forest Service to buy as many as seven large air tankers outright. The U.S. House and Senate passed the bill last week.