DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0245Z August 02, 2009
Alaska and Western/Central Canada/Northwest US/Northern and Central Plains: Earlier Today The wildfires in Alaska, Yukon Territory, and British Columbia are producing a very large area of moderately dense to dense smoke across parts of western/central Canada and northern/central US. Pockets of dense smoke are located in different regions of the overall analyzed area. A plume of dense smoke is located in northeast Alaska and continues to move north into the Arctic Ocean. This smoke source is from fires in Alaska not British Columbia. Another pockets of dense smoke spreads across a section of eastern Yukon Territory, a large section of western Northwest Territories and into northern British Columbia. A strip of heavy smoke is also located in central Saskatchewan and extends SSE into central North Dakota, NE South Dakota and E into Iowa. Moderately dense smoke is seen over central/eastern British Columbia and western Alberta and continues to move SE. Another section of moderately dense smoke is located in southern Alberta with a final section extending across central Saskatchewan and SSE into the northern/central Plains. The rest of the area is covered by light smoke. Most likely smoke has spread farther to the east/south, but due to clouds cannot be seen at this time. Currently: Light smoke continues to move a little farther south into the Central/Southern Plains reaching as far as Oklahoma. The moderately dense to dense smoke moving E to SE is now moving E to NE into the Ohio Valley, Middle/Upper Mississippi Valley, Upper Great Lakes and into southern Ontario. The western side of this large area of smoke covering most of western Canada is now moving across Vancouver Island and into NW Washington state. The smoke is mostly dense. Many of the wildfires burning across British Columbia earlier in the day were only producing light smoke. Now, many of them are producing moderately dense to very dense smoke plumes moving mostly east in direction. J KIBLER 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