DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z July 9, 2026
SMOKE: Canada... Wildfires in the central Northwest Territories continued to burn and produced moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes this evening. A regional layer of medium-to-heavy density smoke was observed spanning much of the Northwest Territories, extending eastward into Nunavut. A more extensive layer of light-density smoke moved eastward into Nunavut, as well as southeastward, eventually merging with light-density smoke over much of central Canada. A layer of light-to-moderate density smoke, likely produced by the fire in southern British Columbia, was also observed drifting eastward and merging with the broader layer of light-density smoke. Despite significant cloud coverage, fires in Quebec were also observed mixing with a region moderate-density smoke layer that eventually contributed to the light-to-heavy density smoke layers over Newfoundland and Labrador and the northern Atlantic Ocean. Minnesota/Ontario… Neighboring fires in western Ontario and northern Minnesota were observed producing localized light-to-heavy density smoke plumes this evening. Southwestern U.S... The Babylon and Gold Mountain Fires in Utah and Colorado continued to burn this morning, producing individual plumes of light-to-heavy density smoke drifting eastward. Light-density smoke from the Ferris and Aspen Acres Fires in Colorado were also observed merging with the smoke from the Babylon and Golden Mountain Fires. The smoke plume eventually merged with the broader layer of smoke extending southward from the Canada, dispersing across eastern CONUS before drifting eastward into the Atlantic Ocean and southward into the Gulf of America. Mexico/Central America/Baja California/Pacific Ocean… A layer of light-density smoke from today’s fire activity, as well as remnant smoke from previous days was observed across southern Mexico and parts of Central America. The smoke extended across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and northwest along the Mexican Pacific Coast before drifting westward over the Pacific Ocean. BLOWING DUST… Caribbean Sea… Light Saharan dust was observed blowing across the Atlantic Ocean this evening, eventually reaching parts of the Caribbean Sea, including the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. 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