Saturday, September 19, 2026

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330 September 19, 2026

SMOKE:
Canada…
Fires were observed burning in southern British Columbia, producing plumes
of moderate-to-heavy density smoke that dispersed locally. Light-density
smoke from these fires combined with light-density smoke from CONUS and
drifted northeastward over southern British Columbia.

Washington…
Fires in north-central Washington State continued to burn this evening,
producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes. Light-density smoke from
these fires dispersed locally in all directions, and drifted northeastward
into Canada.

California…
The Dome Fire in central California produced heavy-density smoke
concentrated near the source. A plume of moderate-density smoke drifted
southwestward over central California. Light-density smoke drifted
northeastward into Nevada, as well as southwestward into the Pacific
Ocean.

Southeastern CONUS…
Numerous isolated fires were observed across the southeastern and central
United States, concentrated in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri. These
fires produced individual plumes of moderate-to-heavy density smoke that
generally drifted northward or northeastward. Smoke from these fires
produced a regional layer of medium-density smoke that drifted eastward
over the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions and into the Atlantic Ocean,
as well as southeastward along the Gulf coast from Louisiana to Florida. A
layer of light-density smoke extended from central Texas across much
of the eastern United States, ultimately drifting eastward over the
Atlantic Ocean.

Caribbean…
A fire on the southwestern coast of the Dominican Republic was observed
producing a plume of light-to-moderate density smoke that drifted
northwestward over Haiti and into the Caribbean Sea.

Mexico…
A layer of light-density smoke from fires and industrial activity was
observed over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Bay of Campeche.

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

 


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.