Fires in Northern Washington
Fires in Northern Washington
30 August 2006
More than 139,000 acres had been burned by the Tripod Complex Fire in northern Washington as of August 28, 2006, according to reports from the National Interagency Fire Center. This image of the fire was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite on August 27, 2006.
AQUA
27 August 2006
Although most of the images of the fire in this series have been photo-like, natural-color images, this scene has been enhanced with MODIS observations of short-wave and near-infrared light. In this type of image, burned areas appear deep red, vegetation appears bright green, and water appears dark blue or nearly black. Active fire locations that MODIS detected are outlined in red. The bright pink glow inside some of the fire perimeters may indicate open flame.
The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel (source: EarthObservatory).
In the Okanogan Range Mountains of northern Washington, the Tripod Complex Fire has been challenging firefighters since late July 2006. On August 28, 2006, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite showed that the Tripod Fire had company: the Tatoosh Complex to the west.
AQUA
28 August 2006
The image reveals one of the firefighters biggest obstaclesthe rugged terrain. Forested mountains climb high into the sky, their summits often bare of vegetation or capped with snow (lower left). Much of the land is wilderness area, which means that facilities and roads are minimal. According to reports from the NationalInteragency Fire Center on August 29, the 142,326-acre Tripod Complex Fire was about 48 percent contained, while the 2,550-acre Tatoosh Complex Fire was completely uncontained.
The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel (source: EarthObservatory).
For more information see:
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National Interagency Fire Center
