DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0115Z July 13, 2007
Northern US Great Plains/Red River Basin: An area of dense smoke aloft from yesterday's central Manitoba fire (that is currently obscured by clouds) continues to drop south out of Canada from the southern portions of Lake Manitoba across ext E ND to the SD/MN/ND intersection where it bends more SE (around the periphery of the large cyclone over Hudson Bay) across SE MN into NE IA. NW US: Thin smoke continues to be seen between breaks in the clouds ahead of a an upper level shear line that extends from WA to CO. The thin smoke can be seen across E WA/N ID/E ID and sections of SW WY. Montana: The Fool Creek fire and the fire along the Lewis and Clark/Flathead/Powell county intersection are producing moderately dense smoke that is moving north along the spine of the mountains before being picked up by higher level winds and moved toward the E covering Teton and Pondera and northern portions of Cascade county. Idaho: The Tongue Complex in SW ID is producing moderately dense smoke that is moving NNE to the rim of the Columbia Plateau and is about 25km wide. Oregon: The Egley and Calamity Complexes in the Ochoco NF are producing very dense smoke that is moving due N centered along the western Grant county line as far north as Hardman,OR in S Morrow county. The plume is quite wide due to the large E-W extent of the fires... which is on average 85km (with the eastern boundary around US-395). California(Nevada): The Antelope Complex is producing moderate smoke that is moving NE across Honey Dry Lake where it begins to thin out and combine with a large fan of thin smoke from the Balls Canyon fire that is moving NE covering most of Washoe county NV (except extreme north portion). The Zaca fire is producing a large amount of very dense smoke that as remained in the very low levels along the forest with some beginning to creep down the Southern slopes into the Santa Barbera area and as far east as Ventura. Some smoke has risen aloft to be directed more northward in pockets of very dense smoke that are connected to the main smoke plume by tendrils of thin smoke that and are currently crossing the Temblor Range into main Valley. Arizona: The Birdie fire is producing a plume of moderate smoke that is moving SE about 73km to the Gila county line with an average width of 22km. N Alberta: Reactivation of the fires in the western portions of Wood Buffalo NP and a fire near Lake Wetzel are combining together in a moderate to dense fan of smoke that fans from due E to SE with smoke reaching the Sask./Alberta province line from 57.7N north to central Lake Athabasca. NW Territories: A string of E to W fires along the Taltson River (SE of Great Slave Lake) are producing moderate to dense smoke particular the fire near 62N 108.4E. The smoke is moving SE behind a SW to NE line of thunderstorms extending some 170km SE with an average width of 50km. Gallina