Burn Scar from the Yarrabin Fire in New South Wales
Burn Scar from the Yarrabin Fire in New South Wales
16 January 2013
false color acquired January 15, 2013
The Yarrabin fire broke out in the Kybeyan Range on January 6, 2013, burning about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Nimmatabel. By January 15, firefighters had contained the blaze, but it had charred more than 10,500 hectares (25,900 acres) of land near Wadbilliga National Forest.
The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite acquired this image of the affected area on January 15, 2013. Burned vegetation appears red in the false-color image; unburned areas are dark green. Grassland and agricultural land is light green and tan.
The fire was one of many that burned across Australia when a record-breaking heat wave struck the country in January. The heat wave, like all extreme weather events, had its direct cause in a complex set of atmospheric conditions that produce short-term weather. However, weather occurs within the broader context of the climate, and theres a high level of agreement among scientists that global warming has made it more likely that heat waves of this magnitude will occur.
References
- Cooma Express (2013, January 13) Yarrabin fire moving away from Cooma: RFS. Accessed January 16, 2013.
- New South Wales Rural Fire Service (n.d.) Current Fires and Incidents. Accessed January 16, 2013.
- Sky News (2013, January 12) Cool change downgrades Yarrabin blaze. Accessed January 16, 2013.
Further Reading
- Daily Mail (2013, January 15) Wall of flame like an atom bomb erupts in Australia as heatwave brings more deadly bushfires sweeping across the country. Accessed January 16, 2013.
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NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Adam Voiland.
- Instrument:
- EO-1 – ALI
Bushfires from space: astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted this view of Australia’s bushfires from the ISS. Source: Chris Hadfield/NASA
Bushfire Burn Scar near Dunalley, Tasmania
16 January 2013
In January 2013, intense bushfires blazed in Tasmania, an island south of Australia. One of the hardest hit towns was Dunalley, a fishing village on the eastern coast. A blaze destroyed at least 80 homesabout 30 percent of the town when it tore through the area on January 4, 2013. In the nearby village of Connellys Marsh, 40 percent of the buildings were destroyed. Primrose Sands lost several homes as well.
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASAs Terra satellite captured this image of the charred landscape on January 14. Vegetation-covered land is red in the false-color image, which includes both visible and infrared light. Patches of unburned forest are bright red, in contrast with areas where flecks of light brown indicate some burning. The darkest brown areas are the most severely burned. Buildings, roads, and other developed areas appear light gray. Clouds are white.
Extreme heat and strong winds fueled the fires. Temperatures in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, soared to a record high of 41.8 degrees Celsius (107.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on January 4. The heat wave, like all extreme weather events, had its direct cause in a complex set of atmospheric conditions that produce short-term weather. However, weather occurs within the broader context of the climate, and theres a high level of agreement among scientists that global warming has made it more likely that heat waves and wildfires of this magnitude will occur.
Recent Media Reports on Fires in Australia
- Video: Australian bushfire worst in decade (published by www.planetark.org, 16 January 2013)
- Helicopter rescues footy team from bushfire (published by www.bordermail.com.au 23 January 2013)
- Residents warned of non-approved bushfire bunkers (published by www.abc.net.au 23 January 2013)
- Latest Australian Bushfires A ‘Disaster’ For Tax Purposes (published by www.tax-news.com 22 January 2013)
- Bushfire sparks confusion in Creswick over refuge (published by www.thecourier.com.au 22 January 2013)
- NSW fireries slam bushfire report (published by www.skynews.com.au 22 January 2013)
- Questions over bushfire response (published by www.au.news.yahoo.com 21 January 2013
- Bushfires kill endangered nocturnal wallabies (published by www.au.news.yahoo.com 21 January 2013)
- Too much money spent on bushfire prevention, says insurance researcher (published by www.couriermail.com.au21 January 2013)
- Fighting and dying: blokes and bushfire in Australia (published by www.theconversation.edu.au 21 January 2013)
- Residents return to bushfire-ravaged homes (published by www.theage.com.au 20 January 2013)
- Preventing bushfires(published by www.northqueenslandregister.com.au 19 January 2013)
- Towns cut off by inferno (published by www.theaustralian.com.au 18 January 2013)
- Man dies in eastern Victoria bushfire (published by www.news.com.au 18 January 2013)
- Tiny pill joins the battle of the bushfires (published by www.news.com.au, 17 January 2013)
- Yarra Valley residents buy up bunkers in bushfire preparation (published by www.heraldsun.com.au 15 January 2013)
- Observatory staff lose homes in fire (published by www.bordermail.com.au 14 January 2013)
- Fighting Fires: You’re Doing It Wrong (published by www.ouramazingplanet.com 14 January 2013)
- Bushfire losses reignite debate about insurance reform (published by www.theconversation.edu.au 14 January 2013)
- Tasmania begins road to bushfire recovery (published by www.theaustralian.com.au 14 January 2013)
- Let’s tell the burning truth about bushfires and the ALP-Greens coalition (published by www.dailytelegraph.com.au 13 January 2013)
- Bush fire devastate thousands of acreages of farms at Sang (published by www.bigpondnews.com 11 January 2013)
- Do Australia’s bushfires emit more carbon than burning coal? (published by www.guardian.co.uk 11 January 2013)
- A history of vulnerability: putting Tasmanias bushfires in perspective (published by www.theconversation.edu.au 11 January 2013)
- Warning: Don’t rely on SMS during fires (published by www.theage.com.au10 January 2013)
- Smoke from bushfires poses a health hazard for all of us (published by www.theconversation.edu.au10 January 2013)
- Adapting to bushfires means accepting their place in Australia (published by www.theconversation.edu.au 10 January 2013)
- Prince Charles donates to Tasmania bushfire appeal (published by www.tvnz.co.nz 10 January 2013)
- Bushfire Rages Towards Unexploded Bomb Site (published by www.news.sky.com 10 January 2013)
- HEARTBREAK: The forgotten cost of bushfires (published by www.bordermail.com.au 09 January 2013)
- Water bombing not sufficient to fight bushfires (published by www.theaustralian.com.au 09 January 2013)
- Hopes for no fatalities rise in bushfire search (published by www.stuff.co.nz 09 January 2013)
- Drones could provide superior bushfire predictions in Australia (published by www.wired.co.uk 08 January 2013)
- Money for bushfire research running out (published by www.smh.com.au 08 January 2013)
- Kiwi crews to battle Tasmania bushfires(published by www.theaustralian.com.au 08 January 2013)
- Two Victorian homes destroyed, people hurt(published by www.theaustralian.com.au 08 January 2013)
- Fast-moving fire takes properties in central Victoria as NSW battles 135 blazes (published by www.theaustralian.com.au 08 January 2013)
- Prepare for more scorchers, Gillard warns (published by www.theage.com.au 08 January 2013)
- Stories of survival emerge from Tas inferno (published by www.abc.net.au 07 January 2013)
- NSW firefighter injured near Gundaroo (published by www.news.com.au 07 January 2013)
- Bushfires in Australia leave path of destruction (published by www.guardian.co.uk 07 January 2013)
- Wildfires Force 3,000 From Homes in Australian Heatwave (published by www.bloomberg.com 07 January 2013)
- Conditions ease as Tasmanian crews battle bushfires (published by www.au.news.yahoo.com 07 January 2013)
- Nation on alert as bushfires spread, Gillard warns NSW residents to be vigilant (published by www.heraldsun.com.au, 07 January 2013)
- Boat ride adds to bushfire misery (published by www.news.com.au, 06 January 2013)
- Tasmanian fires raze 80 properties, thousands stranded (published by www.theaustralian.com.au, 06 January 2013)
- Death report as Tas bushfire razes homes (published by www.news.theage.com.au, 04 January 2013)
- Victoria Police and Government clash over arson taskforce (published by www.news.com.au, 03 January 2013)
- Bushfire warning as North-West Qld braces for heat (published by www.au.news.yahoo.com, 03 January 2013)