Smoke Brief: August 28, 2026

Wildfire smoke prevalence at the ground level in the US is LOW. Smoke is currently impacting the Pacific West, Mountain West, and Midwest regions.  

  • In the Pacific Northwest, east of the cascades in Washington and Oregon will experience periods of scattered LIGHT smoke today and tomorrow, with localized HEAVY to MEDIUM smoke close to fires. 
  • In the Mountain West, Idaho, Montana, and Northern Nevada will be impacted by periods of scattered LIGHT smoke today and tomorrow, with localized MEDIUM to HEAVY smoke close to fires.
  • In the Midwest, periods of scattered LIGHT smoke will impact North Dakota, Eastern South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois today. The smoke will gradually clear tomorrow. 
  • There are nine Air Resource Advisors assigned in Montana (1), New Mexico (1), Washington (2), Oregon (4), and California (1).
Map of smoke impacts across U.S. on August 28, 2026 from airnow.gov