DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z July 15, 2026
Notice: Due to an outage on GOES-East, RGB imagery after 2020Z was not received from the satellite for smoke analysis this evening. However, GOES-West remained fully operational. 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 drifting southeastward. A large area of moderate-density smoke was observed stretching over much of Canada from the Northwest Territories to Newfoundland. Individual wildfires in southern British Columbia generated moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes drifting northeast, while a cluster of fires in western Quebec produced a light-to-moderate density smoke plume extending southeast. 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, covering much of the eastern US. CONUS… A layer of heavy-density smoke from fires in Canada was observed stretching over Ohio, the Mid-Atlantic States, and eastward over the Atlantic Ocean. A large area of light-to-moderate density smoke covered much of the US this evening, drifting eastward over the Atlantic Ocean and westward into the Great Plains. Southwestern U.S.… Despite significant cloud cover, the Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain Fires, and Elk Fires in Colorado were observed producing localized light-density smoke plumes this evening. Oregon… The East Evans Creek Fire in southwestern Oregon was observed producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke drifting northward towards British Columbia, contributing to the extensive layer of light-density smoke covering much of western Canada. Florida… A fire in southern Florida produced a light-to-moderate density smoke plume drifting southeast towards the Atlantic Ocean. 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. 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