DESCRIPTIVE TEXT NARRATIVE FOR SMOKE/DUST OBSERVED IN SATELLITE IMAGERY
THROUGH 1600Z SEPTEMBER 17, 2008
Northwestern U.S. and northern California: Wildfires in Oregon and extreme northwestern California have been burning through the night and producing extensive smoke across the region. The fires are burning in Hood River, northeast Douglas and extreme western Klamath counties in Oregon and in western Siskiyou and eastern Del Norte counties in California. The smoke is mostly moderately dense to dense and moving to the west and northwest, covering much of the western third of Oregon and Washington and extending into the Pacific. The smoke area then curls to the northeast and was seen tracking across southern British Columbia. A small plume of thin smoke was also seen in south central Idaho with a fire in northwest Camas county. This smoke was drifting to the northeast but remained within 25 km of the fire. Northern Plains/western Great Lakes/southern Saskatchewan: Patchy areas of thin smoke, which originated from the fires in the Pacific Northwest from the past day or two, were seen from northeast Montana and southern Saskatchewan drifting eastward across North Dakota and Minnesota into northern Wisconsin. Manitoba/Ontario: An area of aerosol was seen stretching from northeast Manitoba into northwest Ontario reaching to southern James Bay. The type and origin of the aerosol is not known but it is possible that it is remnant sulfur dioxide (SO2) from volcanic eruptions in Alaska in August. Ruminski