DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z August 1, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in southern British Columbia continued to produce moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes this evening, contributing to a regional area of heavy density smoke that drifted northeast over Alberta and northern Saskatchewan. As the regional area of heavy-density smoke dispersed, it expanded into a broader area of medium-density smoke and move southwestward into CONUS. A widespread layer of light-density smoke covered much of central and northern Canada. Fires from the Northwest Territories also contributed to this light-density plume. 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, Washington, Idaho, and Montana were observed producing individual medium-to-heavy density smoke plumes. Smoke from these fires extended northeastward, contributing to the large area of smoke extending northeastward across western Canada before drifting back southeastward across the Great Plains. Wildfires in Nevada and Utah weer also observed this evening, producing localized moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes and an extensive layer of light-density smoke moving northward, eventually merging with the broader area of light-density smoke extending south from Canada. The area of light-density smoke continued southward before turning east across the southeastern CONUS into the Atlantic Ocean. 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 southern Mexico into the Pacific Ocean. An area of moderate-density smoke was also observed extending southward across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec into the Pacific Ocean. Cuba… Individual light-to-moderate density smoke plumes in Cuba were observed drifting generally towards the west. 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