DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0245Z August 28, 2009
Western US: Smoke of mainly thin density from several fires over southern California combined with smoke from fires over northwestern Baja covered much of the Los Angeles and San Diego metro areas. The smoke was moderately dense to even locally dense closer to the fires. Elsewhere in the western US, many fires producing visible smoke plumes were found with the most significant smoke emanating from fires in central and northern California, northwestern and northeastern Oregon, western Washington, north central Idaho, and western Montana. Please refer to the links below for more graphical information on these smoke plumes. Southwestern Canada: Large dense smoke plumes were observed moving mainly to the northeast from significant fires burning across southern British Columbia in southwestern Canada. A large area of thin smoke seen earlier this morning was still observed later in the day moving eastward over southeastern British Columbia, Alberta, and western Saskatchewan provinces of southwestern Canada. Some of the very thin smoke possibly had entered north central and northeastern Montana and possibly western North Dakota. This mass of detached smoke was likely from the active fires burning in southern British Columbia. JS 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