Fires in USA
Fires in the USA
14 May 2007
Ham Lake Fire, Minnesota and Ontario
Along the Minnesota-Ontario border, the Ham Lake Fire wasbillowing a thick cloud of smoke toward the east on 10 May 2007, when ModerateResolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite captured thisimage. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fire are outlined in red.Smoke reaches the city of Thunder Bay, on the shores of Lake Superior.
TERRA
10 May 2007
According to reports from the National Interagency Fire Center on May 11, thefire was burning in timber and dead fuel, and had affected 50,000 acres. Only 5percent contained, the blaze was threatening residences and commercial propertyand had forced evacuations in surrounding communities.
The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters perpixel.
Fire on Santa Catalina Island
Off the coast of California, a large, fast-moving wildfire wasforcing the evacuations of residents and tourists on Santa Catalina Island on 10May 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite captured thisimage. The areas where MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined inred.
AQUA
10 May 2007
The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters perpixel.
Fires in Georgia and Florida
On Tuesday, 8 May 2007, fires in Georgia and Florida churnedout thick plumes of smoke that flowed south and then west over the Gulf ofMexico. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite passed overheadthat morning, it captured this image of the fires and the thick smoke. Placeswhere MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined in red.
TERRA
8 May 2007
Northwest of Jacksonville, Florida, numerous fires were burning in a widevariety of landscapes in and around the Okefenokee Swamp, including hardwood andpine forests, pine plantations, brush, and saw grass. Fires had been burning inthis area since mid-April. Between Jacksonville and Orlando, a cluster ofbrushfires near the town of Starke forced hundreds of people to evacuate fromtheir homes on Tuesday. Southeast of Cape Coral, the Balsa Fire was burning inchaparral on the outskirts of Everglades National Park.
Fires are not uncommon in the swamps and southern pine forests of theSoutheast. Many of the plant communities are adapted to fire and depend on itfor clearing the ground to make way for new seedlings. According to the U.S.Drought Monitor, drought gripped the Southeast as of 1 May 2007, with the levelreaching extreme in southeastern Georgia, northern Florida, and southernFlorida. Throughout the rest of Georgia and Florida, drought was moderate tosevere. The drought would make it easier for both natural and human-caused firesto become large and out of control.
The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters perpixel.
(source: EarthObservatory)
