DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z July 17, 2026
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 that embedded in the jet stream and drifted southeastward into the north Atlantic Ocean. A large area of light-to-moderate density smoke was observed covering much of Canada, extending westward from the Northwest Territories, eastward into Nunavut and Quebec, and drifting southeastward to join with light-density smoke over the United States. CONUS… A layer of moderate-to-heavy density smoke from fires in Canada was observed stretching over the Great Lakes region, the Mid-Atlantic States, and eastward over the Atlantic Ocean, before drifting eastward and northeastward over the Atlantic Ocean, ultimately moving towards Greenland before being obscured by clouds. A large area of light-density smoke covered much of the US, drifting eastward over the Atlantic Ocean and westward into the Great Plains. Pacific Northwest… The East Evans Creek Fire in southwestern Oregon and numerous fires in central Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia were observed producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke drifting northward, mixing with the broader layer of smoke from northern Canada. Haiti… A fire in Haiti was observed producing a light-density smoke plume drifting northwestward into the Atlantic Ocean. Mexico… A regional layer of light-density smoke from fire activity and remnant smoke from previous days was observed in southern Mexico, extending southward across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec 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