DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z August 4, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in southern British Columbia persisted and produced moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes, contributing to a widespread area of moderate-to-heavy density smoke that moved southeast into Alberta and Saskatchewan and the western United States. Smoke circulated back to the northeast and gathered west of Hudson Bay in Manitoba and Ontario. Smoke coverage was also fed from fires burning throughout the western United States and Rocky Mountains. Isolated fires in Ontario and Quebec were observed producing light-to-heavy density smoke plumes drifting northeastward. CONUS… A large area of heavy-moderate density smoke was observed from the Pacific Northwest and extending southeastward into Texas and northeastward into the Great lakes region. A large area of light-density smoke was observed across a major of the U.S, extending west in the Pacific Ocean, north into Canada, and south into the Gulf of America. Pacific Northwest… Wildfires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and British Columbia were observed producing heavy-density smoke plumes drifting toward the southwest. Mexico… Light smoke covered the region from Baja and the Pacific coast to the western Gulf, and spread south into Guatemala. Meyer 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