DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z July 13, 2026
SMOKE: Canada... Wildfires in the central Northwest Territories continued to burn, producing heavy-density smoke plumes. A regional layer of moderate-to-heavy density smoke covered much of the Northwest Territories, drifting eastward through Nunavut towards the Northwestern Passages. Several large fires in east-central Saskatchewan were also observed producing individual smoke plumes ranging in various densities drifting eastward. Fires were also detected in eastern Manitoba, northern Ontario and Quebec this morning; however, the visibility of possible smoke plumes was obscured due to heavy cloud cover. Concentrated near the Ontario-Minnesota border, wildfires produced a plume of light-to-moderate density smoke drifting eastward into Lake Superior. An area of remnant moderate-density smoke was observed stretching over northern Michigan. A layer of light-to-moderate density smoke extended southwestward across Alberta, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest, ultimately drifting into the Pacific Ocean. A widespread area of light-density smoke extended from the Northwest Territories across central and eastern Canada, eventually merging with light-density smoke over the CONUS and the Atlantic Ocean. Southwestern U.S/Midwest and Eastern U.S... The Aspen Acres, Willow, and Gold Mountain Fires in Colorado continued to burn this morning, producing localized moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes and extensive layers of light-density smoke drifting southwestward and eastward. The smoke merged with a broader layer of smoke extending southward from Canada, which spread across the eastern CONUS. Oregon... An isolated wildfire in southwestern Oregon was observed producing light-to-heavy density smoke drifting north and southeastward. Mexico/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean... Layers of light-density smoke from remnant smoke from previous days were observed extending eastward from the Mexican Gulf Coast into the Gulf of America and westward from the Mexican Pacific Coast into the Pacific Ocean. 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