DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1500Z August 8, 2026
SMOKE: Canada… Wildfires in the Northwest Territories were observed producing a localized layer of moderate-to-heavy density smoke. Multiple wildfires in southern British Columbia produced moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes that joined with smoke from the fires in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Smoke from these fires drifted east-southeastward, contributing to a widespread layer of moderate-density smoke that extended eastward through southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, and the Great Plains before drifting northeastward across the Midwestern U.S. into Newfoundland. A layer of light-density smoke covered most of Canada, extending northwestward over the Northwest Territories and much of Yukon and Nunavut, and northward over Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, and southeastward over the Atlantic Ocean. Pacific Northwest... Wildfires in Washington and Oregon continued to produce moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes. Smoke from these fires drifted generally eastward and contributed to a widespread layer of medium-density smoke across much of CONUS. CONUS… In addition to the numerous wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, the fires in Colorado, Idaho, and Montana all produced moderate-to-heavy density smoke plumes drifting generally eastward. The Widemouth 2 Fire in Utah produced a layer of moderate-to-heavy density smoke drifting northwestward. Smoke from these fires contributed to a widespread layer of moderate-density smoke that drifted eastward over the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic and northeastward to New England and into Canada. Light-density smoke was observed covering nearly all of CONUS before drifting southward over Mexico, eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, as well as northward to join with light-density smoke over Canada. Mexico/Gulf of America/Pacific Ocean... An area of moderate-density smoke was observed along the northern Mexican gulf coast and extending into the Gulf of America. An area of light-density smoke was observed across Mexico, and drifting southwestward into the Pacific Ocean. GM 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