DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z August 16, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the Northwest Territories continued to burn this morning, producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke that moved southeast into northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The wildfires in southern British Columbia were observed producing a broad area of heavy-density smoke, which dispersed into moderate-density smoke as it spread in multiple directions. Smoke extended eastward into Alberta, westward over the Pacific Ocean, and southwestward into CONUS across Washington and Oregon. Remnant smoke from yesterday’s fires lingered over Manitoba, with moderate-to-heavy density smoke observed extending northeastward from Manitoba into the Hudson Bay. A broad layer of light-density smoke covered much of Canada before moving southeastward into CONUS. CONUS/Atlantic Ocean… Wildfires across the Pacific Northwest continued to produce moderate-to-heavy density smoke this morning The smoke moved northward into British Columbia where it merged with smoke produced by wildfires in the region. Smoke from the Pacific Northwest also drifted southwestward into Oregon. The smoke turned eastward and transitioned to medium-density smoke as it extended into Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. A layer of remnant light-density smoke covered the northern and central Plains and extended southward into northeastern Mexico, while also remaining present across the Southeast. The smoke merged with light-density smoke from Canada and continued eastward over the Atlantic Ocean before extending northeastward toward Greenland. Mexico… Remnant light-density smoke from Canada and CONUS extended southward into northeastern Mexico. No other significant areas of smoke were observed via satellite imagery this morning. 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