DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z October 17, 2026
SMOKE: California… Fires in the northern Central Valley of California were observed producing localized moderate-to-heavy density smoke and an extensive layer of light-density smoke drifting north-northwestward and southwestward. Fires in the counties of Humboldt and Siskiyou produced localized heavy-density smoke and light-to-moderate density smoke extending eastward and westward. The Cooley Fire in Mendocino County produced light-to-heavy density smoke generally drifting eastward. Remnant light-density smoke from this fire continued southward before drifting into the Pacific Ocean. A layer of light-density smoke was observed along the coast of California, extending westward into the Pacific Ocean and southward towards Mexico. Pacific Northwest… Despite significant cloud cover, fires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana produced individual smoke plumes of various densities. The smoke plumes generally drifted northward and eastward. Arkansas… Fires in Arkansas were observed producing light-to-heavy density smoke plumes drifting southwestward within the state. Southeastern CONUS... Fires were active across the Southeastern CONUS this evening. Individual smoke plumes ranging in various densities were observed across the region. A broad layer of light-density smoke spanned much of the Southeastern U.S. before drifting into the northern Gulf of America. The smoke may also consist of remnant smoke from yesterday’s fires. Mexico… Light-density smoke was observed along the western coast of Mexico before drifting across the Gulf of California and into the Pacific Ocean. BLOWING DUST: California/Pacific Ocean… Light-to-moderate dust was observed drifting westward from southern California, extending offshore into the Pacific Ocean. 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