1996 Aug 31 01:06 UT

This image was aquired by NOAA 12 at 01:06 UT over the western U.S. This was an evening pass.
Map of the pass
Channel 3 view of the data Clouds are black over the center and eastern side. On the western side they are partially illuminated by the low sun.

Idaho

Color composite image using channels 1, 2, and 3. Smoke is widespread in this image. Several fires show smoke plumes in the mountainous area of central Idaho from Hell's Canyon east. Southern Idaho has several large smoke plumes, one blowing in from nothern Nevada. A large fire near Lewiston is hidden by smoke from the fires in northeastern Oregon but shows well in channel 3.

AVHRR Channel 3.

Some of the weaker bright spots are clouds illuminated by the low evening sun, but the more intense spots are most likely fires. This is made more certain if they also show a smoke plume on the color composite image.

The Atomic City fire shows an interesting pattern, a straight southern edge. This might possibly be a backfire started under favorable wind conditions along a road running east-west. This could be used to burn off flammable material that might cause the fire to jump the road if the wind were less favorable. From the smoke plumes the wind appears to be blowing east.

A lot of smoke is visible in this image. The large yellow area visible in the small color composite over western Montana is probably a cloud. It shows up in the channel 3 image as a dark area. The large yellow area to the east and southeast of the Atomic City fire may be a large smoke plume. The surface appears visible through it on the channel 3 image and it seems to start at the Atomic City fire. The main question is that it's direction seems to be different than the other smoke plumes, but a trend in direction is apparent from the northwest to southeast corners of the small color composite, so a best guess is that what is seen is a smoke plume.

Washington

Color composite image using channels 1, 2, and 3.

AVHRR Channel 3.

The western half of the state is clouded but several fires on visible in the eastern half on the channel 3 image. A moderate size fire is seen south of Wilbur (labeled on the channel 3 image).

Oregon

Color composite image using channels 1, 2, and 3.

AVHRR Channel 3.

Some fires are visible on the channel 3 image. The smoke from the fires near Dale and Ukiah shows that a lot of smoke may be visible even when channel 3 does not show too much activity. What appear to be two large smoke plumes are seen in western Oregon even though channel 3 shows little more than clouds in that area. The northern Nevada fire has almost crossed the border into southern Oregon.

Nevada

Color composite image using channels 1, 2, and 3.

AVHRR Channel 3.

Care must be used in interpreting this image since the low sun illuminates scattered clouds. However using both the color composite and channel 3 images it is clear that several fires are visible in the northern part of the state. One complex at the northern border is at the north end of the Santa Rosa Range.

The fires near Yosemite are visible in channel 3 and produce the large smoke plume blowing into west central Nevada.
Latest news from Yosemite

Wyoming

Yellowstone Color composite image using channels 1, 2, and 3.

Yellowstone AVHRR Channel 3.

A small fire in Yellowstone National Park appears to be in progress in these images. The low sun angle makes the color composite image hard to see but what appears to be a smoke plume originates from the same location as a bright spot on the channel 3 image. Yellowstone Lake is faintly visible in the channel 3 image and a map from the park web page shows the fire to be near Fishing Bridge. A morning view taken a week earlier of the same area might be useful for interpreting this image.