EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Haze in the Willamette Valley likely traveled all the way to Oregon from Russia, rather than over the Cascade Range from a small wildfire near the town of Sisters.
National Weather Service meteorologists say smoke from more than 500 wildfires that have burned through forests and peat bogs in Russia is being carried across the Gulf of Alaska and down to the Northwest.
The NASA Earth Observatory reports the Russian smoke is soaring six miles into the stratosphere.
Meteorologists say the smoke is visible by weather satellite and is following the prevailing winds west to east.
