DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z August 6, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the Northwest Territories were observed producing a localized layer of moderate-to-moderate density smoke this evening. Multiple wildfires in southern British Columbia produced heavy-to-moderate density smoke plumes that joined with smoke from the fires in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Smoke from these fires drifted eastward, contributing to a widespread layer of moderate-density smoke that extended eastward through southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, the Great Plains and the Midwestern U.S. before drifting northeastward across Ontario into the southern Hudson Bay and western Quebec. A layer of moderate-density smoke was also observed drifting southeastward into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Quebec. A layer of light-density smoke covered most of Canada, extending northwestward over the Northwest Territories and much of Yukon, and northward over the Hudson Bay and Quebec, and southeastward over the Atlantic Ocean.. Pacific Northwest... Wildfires in Washington and Oregon continued to produce moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes that were observed drifting eastward this evening. Smoke from these fires drifted generally eastward and contributed to a widespread layer of medium-density smoke across much of CONUS. CONUS... In addition to numerous wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, the Widemouth 2 and Black Canyon Fires in Utah, the Elk Fire in Colorado, the Big Grass and Three Links Fires in Idaho, and the Skillet, Moose, and Bobcat Lakes Fires in Montana all produced moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes that drifted eastward. Smoke from these fires contributed to a widespread layer of moderate-density smoke that drifted eastward over the Midwest and northeastward into Canada. Light-density smoke was observed covering nearly all of CONUS before drifting southward over Mexico, eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, as well as northward to join with light-density smoke over Canada. Mexico/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean... Light-density smoke covered the Gulf coast of Mexico and traveled southwestward into the Pacific. GL THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF SMOKE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES AND SMOKE WHICH HAS BECOME DETACHED FROM THE FIRES AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE, TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ARE ALSO DESCRIBED. USERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VIEW A GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF THESE AND OTHER PLUMES WHICH ARE LESS EXTENSIVE AND STILL ATTACHED TO THE SOURCE FIRE IN VARIOUS GRAPHIC FORMATS ON OUR WEB SITE: JPEG map: https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/land/fire/currenthms.jpg Smoke data: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Smoke_Polygons Fire data: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Fire_Points ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO: SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov