Fires can become more active, and smoke will increase and rise with the warmer rising air. As the day progresses and temperatures reach the daytime maximum, fire will burn the most actively and form the most smoke. Smoke rises in the afternoon heat from the Stanley Gap fire. Smoke settles into the valleys as night approaches and cooler air begins to sink to lower elevations. Later in the day as the sun sets, the air will cool and sink.
Fires generally begin to cool down and burn less actively as temperatures drop with nightfall.
A layer of cooler air develops at the ridge tops and begins sinking through the night, trapping and pushing the smoke downward. Ground level visibility will seem much worse as smoke settles into the valleys and lower areas. The weather has an important affect on fire and smoke behavior. Dry conditions lead to greater fire dangers and with persistent dry conditions the fire danger risks increase. Winds are the other main weather influence on smoke and fire behavior, but generally are less of an influence during stable air weather patterns.