Fires in Australia
Fires in Australia
11 January 2007
Fires in Victoria
Clouds had been hiding Victoria from the view of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra and Aqua satellites in previousweeks, but when the skies cleared on 10 January 2007, it was obvious that fires that had been burning in the area since early December 2006 were stillraging. Places where Terra MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. Rivers of smoke pour from the burningvegetation.
TERRA
10 January 2007
Although vegetation in this dry part of the world doesnt appear as vibrantly green as forests in wetter parts of the world, there is nevertheless a clear difference between forests that have burned and those that have not burned (or were lightly burned). The unburned areas appear dark green, while the burned areas appear brown. A huge swath of the Great Dividing Range Mountains between Lake Eildon and the town of Omeo burned in late 2006 and early 2007. The fires may continue for several months.
The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel.
The current situation in Australia is covered by a number of detailedreports (see GFMC Media web page):
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Government bushfire response ‘pathetic’ (published by www.theaustralian.news.com.au, 10 January 2007)
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Gippsland fires (published by www.skynews.com.au, 10 January 2007)
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Bushfires: Vic burns while NSW clouded by smoke (published by batemansbay.yourguide.com.au, 9 January 2007)
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Threat to bushfire research (published by wimmera.yourguide.com.au, 9 January 2007)
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Town stocks up as fire nears (published by www.news.com.au, 9 January 2007)
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CFA to keep eye on swamp fires (published by www.abc.net.au, 9 January 2007)
Further Information on the Fire Situation in Australia:
SA Country Fire Service http://www.cfs.org.au/ Near-Real Time Wildland Fire Monitoring https://gfmc.online/current/au_ciro.htm Current weather situation, forecasts, fireweather http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/tas/ More Information on Australian Fires IFFN country notes Department of Sustainability and Environment
http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/fires/index.htm
Tasmania Fire Service
Further Information Australian and New Zealand links. Background information Recent Media Highlights on Fire, Policies, and Politics
