Fires in California
Fires in the United States
15 July 2008
Fires in California
Clouds were banked against the California coastline and skies were filled with smoke on 13 July 2008, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite captured this image of the state. Forest fires have been burning in the area since the first week of summer, when thousands of lightning strikes occurred during a weekend of dry thunderstorms. Places where MODIS detected active fire are outlined in red.
TERRA
13 July 2008
The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS maximum spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel.
(source: earth observatory)
Siskiyou Complex Fire in Northern California
Lightning triggered a complex of forest fires in Northern Californias Klamath National Forest on 21 June 2008. As of 14 July, this group of fires, known as the Siskiyou Complex, had grown to affect an estimated 35,400 acres and was about 16 percent contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Firefighters were preparing for at least another month of battle with the blaze.
This false-color image was made from visible and infrared data collected by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer(ASTER) on NASAs Terra satellite on 13 July. The image centers on the largest of the fires in the Siskiyou Complex, which is the Dark Three Fire. The burned area is charcoal-colored, while surrounding forest and other vegetation is red. Water is dark blue. The western perimeter of the fire is hidden by smoke.
ASTER
13 July 2008
Several landmarks and features are labeled. The burned area stretches all the way from Bear Peak in the north to beyond the Gasquet-Orleans Road in the southwest (commonly called the G-O Road.) Some areas appear to have been more heavily damaged than others. Western areas seem more uniformly dark, while eastern areas have more red mixed with charcoal colors, indicating not all vegetation burned. (This effect, however, could be due to shadows cast by the topography or the smoke in the western part of the burned area.)
The fires are burning in very rugged and steep terrain with few roads and with stands of large trees. Although the area is not very populated, the forest is the site of significant Karuk and Yurok Tribal cultural and religious sites, which are at risk.
(source: earth observatory)
Fires in Washington
This GOES-11 satellite image taken at 0200 UTC on 14 July 2008 shows a fire in southern Washington that has generated a large plume of very thick smoke which has rapidly spread to the east and reaches to the Idaho border.
IMAGE D6140: GOES-11 <> Image Type=combine <> 07/14/2008 02:00 UTC.
source: www.osei.noaa.gov
See also latest news on the media page.
