DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0300Z May 17, 2008
Southwestern and southcentral Canada and the U.S. northern Plains: Fires in northern British Colombia, northern and central Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and North Dakota are producing mostly light, generally narrow but long smoke plumes that extend toward the southeast. Some of these distinct plumes are embedded in (or under) larger hazy areas of light residual smoke from current and previous days fires. In addition, dust from receded areas of Reed Lake and Chaplin Lake (in Saskatchewan) are producing long, narrow dust plumes extending southeastward 430 km to northwestern North Dakota. Oregon: A fire in western Lake County has a light to moderate smoke plume that extends toward the north northeast. A fire in coastal Lincoln County has a plume of light smoke that extends westward over the Pacific. Montana and Idaho: Fires in western Montana and northern Idaho are producing light or moderate smoke that extends southward or eastward. A particularly large plume comes from a fire in Mineral County, Montana. Florida: Two large fires in southern Florida (one in Miami-Dade County and the other west of Lake Okeechobee) are producing large plumes of mostly moderate smoke that extend eastward over the Atlantic. Gulf of Mexico: The numerous Mexican agricultural burns have produced moderate smoke in the southwestern Gulf. Some of this smoke has been drawn toward the northeast creating a region of much lighter smoke extending toward (but not reaching) western Florida. Bahamas: Three fires on Abaco Island are producing large plumes of light to moderate smoke that extend toward the north and east.