Coast to Coast Smoke

Smoke from the western fires of the U.S. and Canada has now spread coast-to-coast.  If you look closely, you can see it in the visible satellite image below over eastern Canada and Maine.

Source: http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/

The National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) provides a nice interactive map for examining fire and smoke hazards.  The screenshot below shows the active fires (red dots), areas with moderately dense smoke (yellow) and areas with thin smoke (green).  Coast to coast coverage is achieved thanks to a fire near the California coast and then large-scale transport of smoke from fires in the western U.S. and Canada across the continent.

Some views of the smoke from MODIS follow (source: NASA).

Smoke plumes over Oregon 

Dense smoke over the Columbia Basin

Smoke over the northern Plains (Lakes Superior and Michigan at right for reference)

Smoke over Labrador, Canada

Sadly, fires have destroyed an estimated 100 homes in north-central Washington.