Black smoke means the election of a new pope was inconclusive. White smoke means a new pope has been selected.

Firefighters worked to clear black smoke from the historic Union ... were shutting down the air handling system to prevent smoke form moving through the building. At 9 a.m, Hopkins said ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Just after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, commuters on US 131 could see a plume of black smoke from a mile away. Many people called it in, prompting multiple fire departments to respond.

A plane travelling from San Jose to LAX airport battled thick black smoke and high winds ... As we approached LAX, we could see the smoke from the fire moving across the sky.” ...