DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z July 15, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the central Northwest Territories, central and southern Ontario, and central Saskatchewan and Manitoba continued to burn this morning, producing vigorous heavy-density smoke plumes drifting southeastward. Large areas of moderate-density smoke were observed stretching over much of Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland. Moderate-density smoke also drifted southward to join with medium-density smoke from fires in the southwestern United States. A broad area of light-density smoke was observed across much of Canada, extending into both the Pacific Ocean and over the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of Newfoundland. This layer of light-density smoke also drifted southward, combining with light-density smoke covering much of the US. CONUS… A regional layer of heavy-density remnant smoke from fires in the US and Canada was observed stretching over Ohio, the southeastern US, and eastward over the Atlantic Ocean. Large areas of light-to-moderate density smoke covered much of the US this morning, drifting eastward over the Atlantic Ocean and southward off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, with light-density smoke reaching as far south as Georgia, central Texas, and northern Mexico. Southwestern U.S.… The Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain Fires, and Elk Fires in Colorado continued to burn this morning, producing individual heavy-density smoke plumes and contributing to both moderate- and light-density smoke layers spanning the region. Oregon… The East Evans Creek Fire in southwestern Oregon was observed producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke drifting northward. This fire also contributed to the extensive layer of light-density smoke covering the region as far south as northern California. Mexico… A layer of light-density smoke from fire activity and remnant smoke from previous days was observed over the Pacific coast of Mexico, extending westward into the Pacific Ocean. Some light-density smoke from fires in Canada and and the US reached as far south as northern Chihuahua. Marrs 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