NOAA satellites are monitoring a significant wildfire outbreak that began across the western United States in June and has continued into July. Images from orbit help forecasters and emergency teams follow smoke, heat, and fire growth across wide areas that can be difficult to observe from the ground.

The agency said critically hot and dry conditions, combined with unusually high winds, helped the fires expand. Utah's Cottonwood Fire was identified as one of the most destructive fires in the state's history and the largest actively burning fire in the country at the time of NOAA's update.

Satellite monitoring does not replace local evacuation orders or incident reports, but it gives officials a regional view of conditions that can change within hours. Smoke can also travel hundreds of miles, creating air-quality concerns well beyond a fire's perimeter. Residents in affected areas should rely on local emergency agencies for immediate instructions and use federal air-quality tools to track smoke exposure.

Source: NOAA ↗

Source: NOAA National Climate Report ↗