Forest Wildfires and Prescribed Burning in the Southern United States of America

18 December 1998


Several active fire signals and smoke plumes are recorded by OSEI with the NOAA AVHRR Sensor on 17 December 1998.

click to enlarge (487 KB)

Fig.1. NOAA image of the vegetation fires in Florida 17 December 1998
(Source: NOAA http://www.osei.noaa.gov/)

See footnote at the end of this daily update: The fire signatures in the Southeast represent a limited amount of wildfires only. The majority of fires are prescribed burning operations.

LAST NATIONAL INTERAGENCY COORDINATION CENTER SITUATION REPORT (11 December 1998)
http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.html

CURRENT SITUATION:
Cooler temperatures, higher humidities and generally cloudy skies over the Southern Area have moderated fire activity.

OUTLOOK:
Virginia and North Carolina will be dry, except for a chance of showers Saturday and Sunday. Breezy northwest winds are expected on Sunday. High temperatures will range from 50 (10°C) to 60 (15°C) degrees.

Southern California will be dry and locally breezy with gusty northwest winds on Monday. Santa Ana winds are possible Tuesday and Wednesday. High temperatures will range from the 40's (4°C) in the mountains to the lower 70's (21°C) in the valleys.

An excellent Wildfire Season Forecast for Florida can be seen under this link: 1998-1999 Florida Wildfire Season Forecast

Some remarks to the NOAA AVHRR satellite imagery: The "hotspots" detected in the Southeast must not necessarily be wildfires. At this time of the year prescribed burning activities are picking up. For more information on the extent of prescribed burning in the U.S.A. please visit the last issue of International Forest Fire News.


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