Saturday, August 1, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z August 1, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada…
Wildfires in southern British Columbia continued to produce
medium-to-heavy density smoke plumes this morning, contributing to a
regional area of heavy density smoke that drifted north-northeast over
Alberta, northern Saskatchewan, and into Manitoba. As the regional area
of heavy-density smoke dispersed, it expanded into a broader area of
medium-density smoke and move southwestward into CONUS. Fires from the
Northwest Territories also contributed to this moderate-density plume.
A widespread layer of light-density smoke covered much of central and
northern Canada. The smoke extended southward to merge with light-density
smoke over CONUS, and eventually drifted offshore into the Atlantic Ocean.

CONUS…
Numerous wildfires in Oregon and Washington were observed producing
individual medium-to-heavy density smoke plumes. Smoke from the fires
in these fires contributed to a large area of medium-to-heavy density
smoke that extended northeastward into Canada before drifting back
southward across the Great Plains. Wildfires in Nevada also continued to
burn this morning, producing a localized medium-to-heavy density smoke
plume along the Nevada-Utah border. As the plume drifted eastward, it
merged with the broader area of moderate-density smoke extending south
from Canada. The area of medium-density smoke continued southward before
turning east across the southeastern CONUS. It also extended south along
eastern Mexico.

Mexico…
The plume of light-density smoke was observed spreading southward
from CONUS into eastern Mexico, ultimately reaching the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec. The smoke also moved west from central Mexico into the
Pacific Ocean.


Hernandez


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.