Sunday, August 2, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z August 2, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada…
Wildfires in southern British Columbia continued to produce
moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes this morning, contributing to
a regional area of heavy density smoke that drifted northeast across
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario before moving north into
southeastern Nunavut. Some of this heavy-density smoke also drifted
south from southern Manitoba and southwestern Ontario into the northern
Midwest of CONUS. As the heavy-density smoke dispersed, it transitioned
into a broader area of medium-density smoke that continued to drift
southwestward across the Southern Great Plains. A widespread layer of
light-density smoke covered much of central and northern Canada, with
additional contributions from wildfires in Northwest Territories. The
smoke extended southward to merge with light-density smoke over CONUS,
ultimately moving east into the southeastern states.

CONUS…
Numerous wildfires in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana continued
to burn this morning. Smoke from these fires extended northeastward,
contributing to the large area of heavy smoke extending northeastward
across Canada before drifting back southeastward across the Great
Plains. This smoke contributed to the medium- and light-density smoke
observed across much of the Great Plains, with the light-density smoke
extending south across Texas and into Mexico and reaching central Mexico.

Mexico…
The plume of light-density smoke was observed spreading southward from
CONUS into eastern and central Mexico toward 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.