DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0230Z UTC August 11, 2007
Oregon: A large fire over western Jefferson County is producing a very dense smoke plume which is moving to the east across much of the northern third of Oregon. Slightly less dense smoke likely at a lower level was also observed fanning out to the south and southeast from this fire. California: The fire in Santa Barbara is still raging and is responsible for an extremely large dense smoke plume which was generally moving to the north but also fanning out to the northwest and west. The dense smoke appeared to reach close to the Fresno area just prior to sunset. Thinner smoke from this fire was also noted spreading to the northeast and reaching as far as east central Nevada. Additional fires were detected this afternoon and evening over eastern Tehama County in northern California and eastern Amador County in east central California. Both of these fires were emitting moderately dense to locally dense smoke which moved in a northeasterly direction. Late in the day, another fire appeared to start near the Monterey-Kings-Fresno County border region but little details on the smoke plume could be known from satellite data since it was covered by the dense smoke from the Santa Barbara County fire. Idaho/Montana/Wyoming: The very large wildfires continue to burn in central Idaho and western Montana resulting in even more dense smoke which moved to the northeast during the day. Much of central Idaho and a good portion of Montana were covered in moderately dense to locally dense smoke. Several additional fires were noted in the northern Wyoming County of Sheridan as well as the northwestern Wyoming counties of Park and Teton. These fires were likely producing moderately dense to locally dense northeastward moving smoke plumes but cloudiness in the region did prevent some details concerning the smoke to be made. Southern Canada/Northern and Central US: Smoke from the western fires (particularly from the Idaho and Montana fires) was visible across a very large region including south central Canada, the Northern Plains, the Upper and Middle Mississippi Valley, the Great Lakes region, and even at least part of the Ohio Valley. Moderately dense to even locally dense smoke within this large region was noted over northern North Dakota, northern and central Minnesota, and southern Canada. Northeastern Gulf of Mexico/Southeastern US: An elongated swath of haze was still observed extending from the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, across northern Florida and southern Georgia, to along and off the Carolina coast. This region of haze may still contain some remnant smoke from the western wildfires which became trapped under the upper level high pressure ridge several days ago. Kansas/Oklahoma: A cluster of what are believed to be primarily agricultural type fires in south central Kansas and north central Oklahoma were occasionally producing thin puffs of smoke which moved mainly in a northerly direction. JS