Fires in Los Angeles County

Fires in Los Angeles County

1 September 2009

Wildfires raged in Los Angeles County on 29 August 2009. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image around 11:00 a.m. local time (18:00 UTC) the same day. The red outline is a hotspot where MODIS has detected unusually warm surface temperatures consistent with wildfires. Smoke blows north from the hotspot. Acquired near the edge of the satellite swath, this image appears slightly blurrier than would an image acquired by a satellite directly overhead.

According to an 29 August report from California’sDepartment of Forestry and Fire Protection, three fires burned in Los Angeles County that day. Near the city of Los Angeles, the Station fire was 0 percent contained, affected 5,000 acres, and threatened 1,800 residences. East of that wildfire was the Morris fire, which was 85 percent contained, affected 2,168 acres, and threatened 15 residences. Another fire, the PV fire, occurred along the coastline (not shown in this image). Affecting 230 acres and damaging 5 residences, that fire was 90 percent contained at the time of the bulletin.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image around 2:20 p.m. local time (21:20 UTC) the same day. Red outlines show hotspots where MODIS detected high surface temperatures associated with fires, and the hotspots roughly correspond with fires described by California’sDepartment of Forestry and Fire Protection. A department bulletin, issued 30 August 2009, stated that the Station fire was 5 percent contained, affected 35,200 acres, had destroyed 3 residences, and threatened 10,000 more. As of 30 August, the Morris fire, affecting 2,168 acres, was 95 percent contained.

Smoke from both fires blows northward from the flames, away from the metropolis of Los Angeles, and east of the deep green agricultural fields of California’s Central Valley.

On the night of August 30-31, 2009, the Station Fire north of the city of Los Angeles spread in three directions and doubled in size, according to the Los Angeles Times. Two fire fighters had been killed and at least at least 18 homes in Tujunga Canyon had burned as of the morning of 31 August. According to the Incident Information System, the Station Fire covered 85,760 acres as of the morning of 31 August 2009.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image around 11:45 a.m. local time (18:45 UTC) on 30 August 2009. Red outlines indicate hotspots of anomalously high surface temperatures associated with wildfires. In this image, the hotspots remain west of Mt. Wilson. The site of critical communication centers, Mt. Wilson had not burned but was threatened by the fire as of 31 August, according to the Los Angeles Times. Smoke from the fire blows toward the northeast in this image. Clouds, perhaps mixed with some smoke, linger over Los Angeles.

(source: earth observatory)

The current situation in California is covered by a number of detailed reports (see GFMC Media web page):

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