DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 2330Z October 20, 2026
SMOKE: Northwestern U.S./Canada… Multiple fires were observed burning throughout Washington, Oregon, northern Idaho, and southern and central British Columbia this evening, producing plumes of moderate-to-heavy density smoke that drifted northward or northwestward. A regional layer of moderate-density smoke was observed in central British Columbia. A layer of light-density smoke from these fires, as well as remnant light-density smoke from previous days, was observed covering southern Canada from British Columbia to central Ontario, drifting southwestward over the Pacific Northwest and into the Pacific Ocean, as well as southeastward over the upper Midwest and northern Great Plains. Southeastern CONUS… Numerous fires throughout the Southeast were observed producing moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes that drifted southwestward. A broad area of light-density smoke was observed across the Central Plains, the southeastern United States, and the Mid-Atlantic, drifting northeastward over the Atlantic Ocean and southward along the Gulf coast of the southeastern United States. Mexico… A layer of moderate-density smoke was observed drifting along the western coast of Mexico and over the Bay of California. A broader area of remnant light-density smoke was observed covering a similar extent, dispersing further inland over western Mexico, and drifting westward and southwestward over 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