Red Flag Warnings and smoke map

wildfire Red Flag Warnings, August 7, 2013 — Red Flag Warnings, August 7, 2013 (click to enlarge)

Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches for enhanced wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California..

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The Red Flag Warning map above was current as of 7:35 a.m. MDT on Wednesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.

Wildfire smoke map, 9:57 p.m. MDT, August 6, 2013 — Wildfire smoke map, U.S. and Canada, 9:57 p.m. MDT, August 6, 2013

Wildfire smoke map, Northwest US, 957 p.m. MDT, August 6, 2013 — Wildfire smoke map, Northwest US, 9:57 p.m. MDT, August 6, 2013

I believe the dense smoke shown in southwest South Dakota is from the Hardluck Fire in northwest Wyoming that burned very intensely into the night on Tuesday. It put up a huge convection column that made it impossible for the USFS infrared (IR) aircraft to map the entire fire Tuesday night, which is very unusual. Rarely is an IR ship unable to map a fire at night because of a convection column. The Hardluck Fire is labeled on the Red Flag Warning map above.