Fires North of Amur River, Russia
Fires in Russia
18 April 2008
Fires in Southern Russia
Southeast of Russias Lake Baikal, scores of large fires choked the skies of the southern part of the country with smoke. This image of the fires (locations outlined in red) was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite on 17 April 2008.
AQUA
17 April 2008
Click here to view high-resolution version (1.34 MB)
(source: earth observatory)
Early spring is not a common time for naturally occurring wildfires in Russia, so most of these fires are probably intentional agricultural fires or wildfires accidentally caused by people. Fires are also burning to the east of this area, north of the Amur River (visible in the large version of the image).
Fires North of Amur River, Russia
According to international news reports, Russian officials declared a state of emergency in southern and eastern parts of the country in mid-April 2008 due to numerous out-of-control fires sweeping across several regions. This image shows one of the regions that was ablaze: the Amur Oblast in Russias Far East. On 15 April 2008, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite captured this image of dozens of active fires (locations outlined in red) and clouds of thick smoke over the area. Dark brown burn scars sprawl across the tan landscape.
AQUA
15 April 2008
Click here to view high-resolution version (1.34 MB)
(source: earth observatory)
Although this area is not densely populated, there are numerous small towns clustered along the banks of the areas many rivers. Two major railways also pass through the area. The Trans-Siberia Railroad makes a noticeable fire break northwest of the town of Svobodnyy. A second railroad, the Baikal-Amur Mainline also passes through the area, though it is not as noticeable. The Baikal-Amur is roughly parallel to but northeast of the Trans-Siberian Railroad; in this image, it connects the Zeyskoye Reservoir to the town of Fevralsk.
The landscape in Amur Oblast is largely a mosaic of agricultural land and mixed forests, though grassland (steppes) and boreal (evergreen) forests are also present. Early spring is not the season when most natural fires occur in the area; the peak of the natural fire season is generally later in the summer. However, spring is the season for people to clear and clean up agricultural land for the upcoming growing season, and many people use fire for that purpose. Accidental fires often escape control and burn into surrounding forests and other natural areas. It isnt possible to tell from satellite whether a particular fire is intentional or accidental, but it is likely that some of the larger fires in this scene are out-of-control wildfires.
For more details on fire in the Russian Federation:
- IFFN Russian Federation Special Issue (IFFN 32)
- Russia 2002 fire report
- IFFN Russian Federation 2002 Fire Special (IFFN 28)
- IFFN Reports from Russia
- Fire Research Campaign Asia-North (FIRESCAN)
Bibliography on fire in ecosystems of boreal Eurasia:
One of the results of the first international fire science conference in the Russian Federation (1993) was the publication of a monograph on fire in boreal Eurasia, including some selected contributions on boreal North America. The literature cited in the monograph contains numerous publications which in many cases are not easily accessible. To facilitate literature search the bibliographical sources are provided by topic (chapter).
Goldammer, J.G. and V.V.Furyaev. 1996. Fire in Ecosystems of Boreal Eurasia. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 390 p.
