DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1700Z August 09, 2009
Northwest Canada: An area of light to moderately dense remnant smoke from the fires in Alaska and the Yukon was seen stretching from the central Yukon Territory eastward across the southwest portion of the Northwest Territories to the western edge of Great Slave Lake. Alaska: Clouds cover much of eastern Alaska this morning, hindering any smoke detection. However, an area of remnant smoke was seen stretching from Kodiak Island westward across the northeast Aleutians and Bristol Bay and into the central Bering Sea. The smoke area crosses the Pribilof Islands and extends further to the west and northwest. Central/Western Canada Northwest US: A broad area of smoke was seen covering much of central and southwest Canada. The area extended from southern British Columbia eastward across southern Alberta and then expanded northward covering most of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The smoke reached the western shore of Hudson Bay along the Manitoba and northern Ontario coast. The southern fringe of this expansive smoke area brushed across portions of northern North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington. Most of the smoke area was light although a few larger patches of moderately dense smoke were seen over Manitoba and along the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. Colorado: A patch of light smoke was seen drifting across northeast Colorado. The source is not certain but it may be from a wildfire in the southwest part of the state. Oregon/Nevada: An area of light smoke was drifting across northwest Nevada and southeast Oregon. This is likely from the Shu Lightning and Hat Creek wildfires in northern California. Southern California: A broad area of moderately dense to dense smoke from the La Brea fire in northern Santa Barbara county covered western Santa Barbara and southern San Luis Obispo counties with some additional smoke extending to the east into Ventura. The smoke had also drifted off the coast over the northern Channel Islands. Arizona: Numerous localized patches of smoke were seen with the continuing fires in Arizona. This smoke remained in the immediate vicinity of the fires. Ruminski More information on the areas of smoke described above as well as others can be found at the locations listed below. THE FORMAT OF THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS BEING MODIFIED. IT WILL NO LONGER DESCRIBE THE VARIOUS PLUMES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES. THESE PLUMES ARE DEPICTED IN VARIOUS GRAPHIC FORMATS ON OUR WEB SITE: JPEG: http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/land/hms.html GIS: http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm KML: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/kml.html THIS TEXT PRODUCT WILL CONTINUE TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF SMOKE WHICH HAVE BECOME DETACHED FROM AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE FIRE, TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. IT WILL ALSO STILL INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOWING DUST. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THESE CHANGES OR THE SMOKE TEXT PRODUCT IN GENERAL SHOULD BE SENT TO SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov