Fires in Guinea

Fires in Guinea
14 May 2004


Dozens of  fires were burning in Guinea, West Africa on 13 May 2004. The following image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite. Red dots show the location of active fires detected by MODIS. Guinea is approaching the end of its dry season (December-May).

Aqua Satellite
14:20 UTC

(Image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Project at NASA/GSFC)

The fire problem in Guinea, likeeverywhere else in the sub-region, reveals a relationship between local peopleand natural resources. The lighting of early fires between November and thebeginning of January is recommended in order to prevent or limit laterdevastating fires during the second half of the dry season (mid-January to March).In fact, later fires make up most of the burned surface area as they take placeagainst a background of dried vegetation.
(Source: Kane, Racine. 1997. Satellite Monitoring of Fires in Guinea and of the Impact of Awareness Rasing Campaigns on Rural Radio).

For background information on theFire Situation in Africa see:

RegionalWildland Fire Networks (AfriFireNet) and

IFFN Country Reports on various African countries.


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