Wednesday, June 21, 2017

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 0330Z June 22, 2017

SMOKE:
Southwestern US/Western Mexico...
The wildfire in eastern Iron County of southwestern Utah rapidly expanded
this afternoon and evening resulting in a huge dense smoke plume which
spread quickly to the east and east-northeast reaching across the border
into western Colorado just prior to sunset. A combination of this fire
and other fires burning in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southern
California as well as western Mexico were responsible for a very large
mass of thin density smoke which covered western Mexico and the adjacent
eastern Pacific, Baja, southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, eastern
and southeastern Nevada, Utah, and the western half of Colorado.

Eastern Alaska/Northwestern Canada...
A large patch of thin to moderately dense smoke associated with fires
burning in the Yukon of northwestern Canada was visible over much of
the Yukon, the western portion of the Northwest Territories and eastern
Alaska.

UNKNOWN AEROSOL...
An unknown aerosol was detected just before sunset in an arc from
southwest Alaska near Bethel northeastward to near Bettles. It could
possibly be sulfur dioxide from a recent volcanic eruption or long range
transport of smoke or dust from Asia.

JS

THIS TEXT PRODUCT IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT AREAS
OF SMOKE ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE FIRES AND SMOKE WHICH HAS BECOME
DETACHED FROM THE FIRES AND DRIFTED SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE SOURCE
FIRE. TYPICALLY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR MORE DAYS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST
ARE ALSO DESCRIBED. USERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VIEW A GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF
THESE AND OTHER PLUMES WHICH ARE LESS EXTENSIVE AND STILL ATTACHED TO
THE SOURCE FIRE IN VARIOUS GRAPHIC FORMATS ON OUR WEB SITE:

JPEG:   http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/land/hms.html
GIS:    http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm
KML:    http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/FIRE/kml.html
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE SENT TO
SSDFireTeam@noaa.gov

 


Unless otherwise indicated:
  • Areas of smoke are analyzed using GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST Visible satellite imagery.
  • Only a general description of areas of smoke or significant smoke plumes will be analyzed.
  • A quantitative assessment of the density/amount of particulate or the vertical distribution is not included.
  • Widespread cloudiness may prevent the detection of smoke even from significant fires.