Fires in USA
Fires in Georgia, USA
30 April 2007
Sweat Farm Road Fire, Georgia
In mid- to late April 2007, the Sweat Farm Road Fire threatened the southern margin of Waycross, Georgia, forcing thousands to evacuate. In an image from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASAs Terra satellite on 27 April 2007, the fires encroachment toward the town isvisible.
TERRA
27 April 2007
The image uses a combination of visible and infrared light detected by ASTER to make the burned areas(charcoal) stand out from surrounding vegetation (red) and paved/developed areas(light gray). Through scattered clouds, the charred landscape is visible, crisscrossed by an irregular network ofroads. Pockets of unburned or lightly burned vegetation stand out in red. As of30 April, the fire had affected more than 50,000 acres, according to reports from the U.S. Southern Area Coordination Center. The Sweat Farm Road fire was burning in the northern parts of the Okefenokee Swamp on April 30, adjacent to the 26,000-acre Big Turnaround Complex Fire.
Several other large fires were burning in southern Georgia on 29 April 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite passed overhead and captured this image. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. The Roundabout Fire sprang up on27 April, according to the U.S. Southern Area Coordination Center, and was about 3,500 acres as of30 April. That fire was threatening homes in the community of Kirkland.
TERRA
29 April 2007
Meanwhile, south of Waycross, two large blazes were burning next to each other in the northern part of OkefenokeeSwamp. The Sweat Farm Road Fire threatened the town of Waycross in previousweeks, but at the end of April, activity had moved to the southeastern perimeter. The fire had affected more than 50,000 acres of timber(including pine tree plantations) and swamps. Scores of residences scattered throughout the rural area arethreatened. The Big Turnaround Complex is burning to the east. The 26,000-acre fire was extremely active over theweekend, with flame lengths more than 60 feet (just over 18 meters) in places.
(source: EarthObservatory)
