Fires in United States
Fires in the United States
23 March 2007
Fires in the Southern United States
On 20 March 2007, the southern United States was scattered withnumerous fires. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite captured thisphoto-like image and fire detections, which are marked with red dots. Some ofthe fire detections appear only as hotspots, places where MODIS detectedunusually high temperatures, while other fires are producing obvious smokeplumes. An especially smoky group of fires was occurring near theFlorida-Georgia state line.
AQUA
21 March 2007
According to the March 20 daily situation report from the SouthernArea Coordination Center of the National Interagency Fire Center, themajority of the fires in the Southern United States so far this year have beenhuman-caused (accidental, arson, or prescribed) rather than lightning-caused. Atthe time of this image, most of the large fires being monitored by the SouthernArea Coordination Center were prescribed firesfires set intentionally byforest service or other land managers to improve vegetation conditions or reducethe risk of fire later in the season.
The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of500 meters per pixel.
(source: EarthObservatory)
