Friday, August 15, 2025

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1420Z August 15, 2025

SMOKE:
Northwest Territories/Northeastern CONUS/Atlantic Ocean...
Wildfires continued to burn across the southeastern Northwest Territories,
releasing light-to-heavy density smoke moving west towards Yukon and
north towards the Arctic Ocean. Light smoke was observed extending over
the Great Lakes region and the northeastern United States to merge with
the smoke produced by the large wildfire in Newfoundland drifting over
the Atlantic Ocean.

Western CONUS...
Cloud cover obscured smoke detection over the wildfire located in western
CONUS, including the Turner Gulch Fire and the Stoner Mesa Fire in
southwestern Colorado; the Lee Fire and the Elk RBX Fire in northwestern
Colorado; the Dragon Bravo Fire in northern Arizona; the Billy, Bronco,
and Indian Creek Fires in southeastern Arizona; the Monroe Canyon and
Beulah Fires in Utah; and the Gifford Fire in southern California;
and the Sunset, Rock, and Box Fires in Idaho. The wildfire observed
in west-central Idaho produced light-to-heavy density smoke that moved
northeast towards western Montana. The Red Canyon Fire in central Wyoming
remained active, producing light density smoke that dispersed northeast
across southeastern Montana.

DUST:
Caribbean...
Light-to-moderate dust from the Saharan Desert was observed moving
westward towards the Caribbean.

Libby


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:http://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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.