Wednesday, July 29, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z July 29, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada…
Wildfires in southern British Columbia continued to produce
medium-to-heavy density smoke plumes this evening, contributing to a
regional area of medium-density smoke that drifted eastward over central
Alberta and Saskatchewan. Smoke that originated in the United States
drifted northeastward into Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. A
widespread layer of light-density smoke covered much of central and
northern Canada, and also drifted southward to merge with light-density
smoke covering CONUS. Light-density smoke drifting northeastward off
the Atlantic coast of CONUS reached Nova Scotia and western Newfoundland.

CONUS…
Numerous wildfires in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, and Montana were
observed producing individual medium-to-heavy density smoke plumes. Smoke
from these fires contributed to a large area of medium-density smoke
that extended southeastward across the Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and
Southern United States, before drifting eastward over the Atlantic
Ocean. A widespread layer of light-density smoke was observed covering
much of CONUS, drifting westward from the Pacific Northwest over the
Pacific Ocean, eastward and northeastward across the Atlantic Ocean,
and southward toward Mexico.

Mexico…
Light-density smoke was observed covering the Gulf of America and drifting
southward across Gulf coast of Mexico, over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,
and into the Pacific Ocean.

Caribbean…
Light-density smoke drifted southward from CONUS over the Bahamas. Fires
in Cuba and Haiti were observed producing individual light-to-moderate
density smoke plumes drifting northward and northwestward.


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

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.