Wildfires in Texas
Wildfires in Texas
19 April 2011
published by www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov
USA — Since April 6, more than a million acres have burned throughout the state of Texas, according to the Texas Forest Service. This image, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite, shows conditions on April 15, 2011. Wind whipped both smoke and dust southeast across the state. The fires detected by MODIS are marked in red.
The image illustrates one of the primary reasons fire danger is extremely high in Texas: strong winds. Warm temperatures, dry vegetation, and low humidity are also contributing to hazardous fire conditions. Normally a rainy month, March 2011 was the driest March on record, said the Texas Forest Service. Plentiful rains in 2010 spurred grass and shrubs to grow. The recent lack of rain, warm temperatures, and low humidity have turned all of that vegetation into dry tinder, creating unprecedented fire danger.
As of April 18, at least 23 large wildfires were burning in Texas. Seven of the largest are labeled in the image. The image also shows two wildfires burning in northern Mexico. So far in 2011, firefighters have responded to 7,807 fires, which have burned 1,528,714 acres of land and 244 structures, said Governor Rick Perry in an April 16 request to President Obama for a federal declaration of a major disaster.
Most of the seven fires shown in the image are larger than ten thousand acres, and many have threatened communities. As of April 18, the Texas Forest Service reported their status as follows:
* Cannon Fire Complex Fire Three fires collectively burned 63,427 acres; fire is 80 percent contained;
* Cooper Mountain Ranch Fire 152,000 acres burned; 4 homes destroyed; 50 percent contained;
* Jackson Ranch Fire 2,200 acres burned; community evacuated; 50 percent contained;
* PK West 50,739 acres burned; 31 homes destroyed and 495 threatened; 25 percent contained;
* Swenson Fire 122,500 acres burned; 90 percent contained;
* Wichita Complex Fire 11,785 acres burned; 20 homes destroyed; Shepard Air Force Base and surrounding housing threatened; 90 percent contained;
* Wildcat Fire 103,772 acres burned; multiple communities evacuated; unknown containment.