DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z JULY 6, 2008
Mid Atlantic Coast: Extensive cloud cover is hindering a good look at the smoke from the ongoing fires in the Great Dysmal Swamp and in Hyde county North Carolina. St. Lawrence Valley: Some old smoke brought down from fires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba can be seen moving east from Sudbury Ontario across Monreal in extream lower Quebec the upper St Lawrence Valley, northern Maine to off the coast of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. California/Nevada/Oregon/Washington: Smoke from the numerous fires burning across California covers much of northern and central California this morning. The thickest smoke was seen in northern California in the Sacramento Valley and the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada across Tehama, Butte, Yuba, Nevada and nearby counties. The smoke was drifting to the south and had reached Yolo and Sacramento counties. Much of the smoke from the fires in Monterey and Santa Barbara counties has drifted south off the coast although some thin smoke was still seen moving to the east into the San Joaquin Valley. Light to moderately dense smoke from the large fire in northeast Kern county was lifting to the north across Inyo county and into southern Nevada. Additional light smoke was seen over northwest Nevada from the fires in northern California. A large mass of thin to moderately dense aerosol was seen over much of Washington and Oregon having moved in from the Pacific. The thickest area was over eastern Washington and northwest Oregon by mid morning. The smoke also extended offshore and down the coast to just off the coast near the Oregon/California border. The origin and type of aerosol is uncertain but is possibly recirculated smoke from the California fires that was drawn northwest into the Gulf of Alaska several days ago. South Central Canada/Northern Plains and western Great Lakes: An area of thin smoke was seen stretching along the Canadian/US border from Montana/Saskatchewan east to Minnesota/Ontario. An additional area of thin smoke with patches of moderately dense smoke was seen over Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. This smoke was a combination of residual smoke from the large numbers of fires in northern California and in northern Saskatchewan. Alaska and Northwestern Canada: Two fires continue to burn and produce smoke in eastern Alaska. One fire was about 55 km to the south-southeast of Fort Yukon and the other about 50 km to the north of Fort Yukon. The amount of smoke actively being produced by the fires has diminshed substantially overnight but the smoke from last evening extends to the southwest in a channel between Fairbanks and Tanana, over McGrath and Aniak and into Kuskokwim Bay. The An area of moderatley dense to perhaps dense smoke was roughly between Minchumina and McGrath. An area of thin smoke was also seen in a broad arc across northern Canada extending from Northwest Territories from east of Great Slave Lake to east of Great Bear Lake and along the north slope of Yukon and Northwest Territories. Ruminski/GLS