DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z July 17, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the central Northwest Territories, central and southern Ontario, and central Saskatchewan and Manitoba continued to burn this evening, producing vigorous heavy-density smoke plumes that embedded in the jet stream and drifted southeastward into the central Atlantic Ocean. A large area of moderate-density smoke was observed stretching over much of Canada from British Columbia to Quebec, before drifting southeastward to join with medium-density smoke covering central CONUS. A broad area of light-density smoke was observed covering much of Canada, extending westward off the Pacific coast of British Columbia, eastward into Nunavut and Quebec, and drifting southeastward to join with light-density smoke over the United States. CONUS… A layer of medium-to-heavy density smoke from fires in Canada was observed stretching over the Great Lakes region, the Mid-Atlantic States, and eastward over the Atlantic Ocean, before drifting eastward and northeastward over the Atlantic Ocean, ultimately reaching the eastern coast of Newfoundland. A large area of light-density smoke covered much of the US, drifting eastward over the Atlantic Ocean, westward to combine with smoke from fires in Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. Colorado… The Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain, Willow, and Elk Fires in Colorado were observed producing localized moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes. Washington/Oregon… The East Evans Creek Fire in southwestern Oregon and numerous fires in central Oregon and Washington were observed producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke drifting northeastward into Canada. Dominican Republic/Haiti… Isolated fires in Haiti and Dominican Republic were observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke drifting northwestward. Mexico… A regional layer of light-density smoke from fire activity and remnant smoke from previous days was observed over the Pacific coast of Baja California, extending southwestward into the Pacific Ocean. Monaghan 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