DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330 August 28, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Despite significant cloud cover this evening, fires were observed burning in southern British Columbia and in the Northwest Territories, where they produced localized moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes. A layer of moderate-to-heavy density smoke spread northeastward from fires in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, drifting across British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. A separate layer of remnant moderate-to-heavy density smoke was observed drifting southeastward over Nunavut, Manitoba, and Ontario. Light-density smoke was observed over much of central and western Canada, drifting northeastward toward Greenland and southward to join with light-density smoke over the United States. United States… Wildfires across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana generated individual moderate-to-heavy smoke plumes that generally drifted northeast. These plumes contributed to a layer of moderate-to-heavy density smoke that drifted northeastward over Idaho and Montana, then into Canada. The Ross Fire in Texas was observed producing a plume of heavy-to-moderate density smoke that drifted northwest. Individual fires in Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, and Florida produced localized heavy-to-moderate density smoke plumes that drifted southward. Medium-density smoke drifted southeastward from Canada into Michigan and northern Indiana. A large layer of light-density smoke covered much of the United States, drifting southwestward over the Pacific Ocean, southeastward into the Atlantic Ocean, and southward into the Gulf of America. Mexico… A layer of remnant light-density smoke from fires and industrial activity was observed across western Mexico and the Gulf of California. Smoke drifted westward and offshore into the Pacific Ocean. Marrs 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