Images
September 29, 2025 - Smoke over Washington State, United States
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Dense smoke clouded the air across Washington state into the valleys across Washington state in late September 2025. On September 24, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image centered on that state.
The thickest smoke appears to rise from the Labor Mountain, Lower Sugarloaf, and Wildcat Fires in the Cascades. Another patch of smoke in western Washington comes from the Bear Gulch Fire. While much of the smoke blows to the east, thick gray smoke also has seeped into mountain valleys, reaching far north into British Columbia, Canada, which covers the northern section of the image. Fires also still burn in that province, north of the image, and the Canadian fires also likely contribute to the widespread valley haze.
On September 28, the Bear Gulch Fire had burned 20,070 acres in the Olympic National Forest and was only 5 percent contained, according to InciWeb. The same source reported that the Labor Mountain Fire had reached 33,318 acres and was 7 percent contained, the Lower Sugarloaf Fire scorched 37,380 acres with 32 percent containment, and the Wildcat Fire spanned 11,624 acres with 8 percent containment.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/24/2025
Resolutions:
1km (148.3 KB), 500m (324.5 KB), 250m (680.6 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Dense smoke clouded the air across Washington state into the valleys across Washington state in late September 2025. On September 24, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image centered on that state.
The thickest smoke appears to rise from the Labor Mountain, Lower Sugarloaf, and Wildcat Fires in the Cascades. Another patch of smoke in western Washington comes from the Bear Gulch Fire. While much of the smoke blows to the east, thick gray smoke also has seeped into mountain valleys, reaching far north into British Columbia, Canada, which covers the northern section of the image. Fires also still burn in that province, north of the image, and the Canadian fires also likely contribute to the widespread valley haze.
On September 28, the Bear Gulch Fire had burned 20,070 acres in the Olympic National Forest and was only 5 percent contained, according to InciWeb. The same source reported that the Labor Mountain Fire had reached 33,318 acres and was 7 percent contained, the Lower Sugarloaf Fire scorched 37,380 acres with 32 percent containment, and the Wildcat Fire spanned 11,624 acres with 8 percent containment.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/24/2025
Resolutions:
1km (148.3 KB), 500m (324.5 KB), 250m (680.6 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
