DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z September 22, 2026
SMOKE: Notice: Due to a data flow outage on GOES-East and GOES-West, RGB imagery from 1200Z to 1250Z was not received for this morning’s smoke analysis. Washington/British Columbia… Fires in southern British Columbia and north-central Washington were observed producing a light-to-heavy density smoke plume. Moderate-to-heavy density smoke concentrated near the source, while light-density smoke drifted northeastward before being obscured by cloud cover. A fire in southeastern British Columbia generated a light-to-moderate density smoke plume drifting northward, merging with the broader layer of light-density smoke. The Sisi Fire produced light-to-moderate density smoke that drifted east-southeastward within Washington State. An isolated fire on Vancouver Island was also observed producing a localized light-to-heavy density smoke plume moving northward. Northern Canada… Fires in the Northwest Territories was observed producing a localized area of moderate-to-heavy density smoke that drifted eastward. Light-density smoke from these fires and from fires in CONUS drifted eastward across the Northwest Territories, Alberta, northern Saskatchewan, and Nunavut, before continuing southeastward across the Hudson Bay and into Manitoba, Ontario, and western Quebec. A separate layer of remnant light-density smoke was observed drifting southeastward from the Davis Strait into southern Greenland, before drifting eastward into the northern Atlantic Ocean. California… A plume of moderate-to-heavy density smoke from the Dome Fire was observed traveling northwestward and southward, while a regional remnant layer of light-density smoke persisted, extending southward across the state and into the Pacific Ocean. Southeastern CONUS… A few individual light-to-moderate density smoke plumes were seen in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Georgia this morning. A remnant plume of medium-density smoke from yesterday’s fires extended southwestward from southeastern Tennessee and western Georgia, across Alabama, Lower Mississippi Valley, and southeastern Texas, and into the northern Gulf of America. A regional layer of light-density smoke spanned the Southeastern United States, merging with smoke from the Gulf of America before continuing offshore into the Atlantic Ocean. Mexico/Central America/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean… A layer of light-density smoke from fires and industrial activity was observed in the Gulf coastal region of Mexico, spanning eastward into the Gulf of America, southward into the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Central America, and westward across central Mexico and into the Pacific Ocean. A layer of moderate-density smoke from fires and industrial activity were observed in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec before extending northward into the Bay of Campeche and southward into the Pacific Ocean. An isolated fire in the western Yucatan Peninsula was observed generating a light-to-moderate density smoke plume extending westward into the Gulf of America. 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