DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0115Z July 25, 2007
Central (from the Rockies to the Appalachians)/Eastern Canada: The numerous large wildfires in the western US and over central Canada have produced an incredible amount of smoke over the past several days. The smoke from these areas has merged and covers much of the area between the Rockies and the Appalachians in the US and much of southeast Canada from Manitoba to central Quebec. The most dense smoke is seen across northern Ontario and extends east across southern Hudson Bay and covers all of James Bay and reaches to west central Quebec. A portion of this dense smoke is being drawn into the circulation of an upper level cyclone over the Ohio Valley and is drifting across eastern Lake Superior and the upper peninsula of Michigan. Much of the western US where the fires have been raging is cloud covered today and is precluding smoke detection for most of the fires. One area is visible though along the northeast Oregon/west central Idaho border where long running fires are producing locally dense smoke in and around the Hell's Canyon area. A large area of light to moderate smoke is seen across the northern Plains from Montana across the Dakotas and into western Minnesota. A separate patch of residual mainly light smoke is seen from eastern Arkansas stretching to the east northeast across much of Kentucky and Tennessee. This area of smoke is likely also mixing with regional haze. Another patch of mostly light smoke is evident from central Oklahoma across eastern Kansas and into northwest Missouri. This smoke is likely the result of several days with large numbers of agricultural burns seen over central Kansas and Oklahoma. California: A fire in central Santa Barbara county is producing a plume of moderately dense smoke that is moving to the south across the Santa Barbara channel and over the Channel Islands. Dense smoke from fires in northwest Siskiyou county is drifting to the northeast and just reaches across the Oregon border. Alaska/Northwest Territory: A small fire along the north slope southeast of Umiat is producing a plume of light to moderate smoke that is mainly fanning out and drifting to the south. A larger fire in the Northwest Territory near Fort Good Hope is producing a moderate to dense plume of smoke that is moving to the southeast. Ruminski