Fires in Domican Republic
Pico Duarte, José del Carmen Ariza National Park
18 March 2005
NASA image courtesy MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Smoke from fires burning in the Dominican Republic is seen in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image, taken on 18 March 2005 by NASAs Aqua satellite.
In the center of the island fires are burning in the Cordillera Central, near Pico Duarte, the highest point in the West Indies (over 3.000 m.a.s.l.).
Pico Duarte is covered with pine forests at its higher elevations and savannah grasslands at lower elevations. Because the smoke is thicker than other fires on the island, the large fires may be burning in the high pine forests.
March is typically the driest month in the Dominican Republic, but an exceptionally dry winter may have increased the fire hazard. The dry season usually runs from December to May for most of the island, but the first three months of 2005 were even drier than normal. Long term drought has plagued the island, and this extended period of dryness may have left trees and plants even more prone to large, smoky fires, such as those seen here.
Information taken from: Earth Observatory.
