DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z August 31, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Despite significant cloud cover this evening, fires were observed burning in the Northwest Territories, where they produced localized moderate-density smoke. Light-density smoke from these fires drifted southeastward over Alberta and Saskatchewan before moving eastward into Manitoba and the Northern Plains. A layer of remnant light-density smoke was observed over the Hudson Bay, extending northeastward into the Davis Strait and southeastward across Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador into the Atlantic Ocean. U.S. Pacific Coast… Wildfires across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana generated individual moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes that generally drifted northward. The Plaskett Fire in Monterey County, California was observed producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke moving northward across the Central Valley into southern Oregon. These plumes contributed to a layer of light-density smoke spanned from the Pacific Northwest to southern California, before drifting southwestward into the Pacific Ocean and southeastward into the Southwestern U.S. Central and Eastern CONUS... Small fires in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana were observed producing light-to-moderate density smoke plumes drifting generally westward, while fires in Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri produced moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes generally drifted northward. Smoke from these fires combined with a large layer of remnant light-density smoke that was observed over much of the central and eastern United states, drifting southwestward into Mexico and eastward over the Atlantic Ocean. Mexico… A layer of remnant light-to-moderate density smoke from fires and industrial activity was observed across the Gulf of America and Mexico. The smoke eventually drifted westward into the Pacific Ocean. Cuba… Fire in Cuba were observed producing individual smoke plumes ranging in vearious densities drifting southwestward and northwestward. A layer of light-density smoke was also observed drifting westward into the Caribbean Sea. BLOWING DUST: Sonora/California/Arizona… Light dust from the northwestern Sonora was observed drifting northwestward across the U.S.-Mexico border into southern California and Arizona. 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