Burns Areas from California Fires November 8 , 2007 Update
The October wildfires that plagued Southern California were some of the worst on record. One of these, the Witch Wildland fire, burned 198,000 acres north of San Diego, destroying 1,125 homes, commercial structures and outbuildings. More than 3,000 firefighters finally contained the fire two weeks after it started on October 21. Now begins the huge task of planning and implementing mitigation measures to replant and reseed the burned areas. These images from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft depict the area after the fire, on November 6. In the top false color image, vegetation is green, burned areas are dark red and urban areas are blue. In the bottom burn severity index image, calculated using infrared and visible bands, red areas are the most severely burned, followed by green and blue. This information can help the U.S. Forest Service to plan post-fire activities.
With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet.
California Fires in Motion October 24, 2007 Update
The growth and spread of Southern California's numerous wildfires is highlighted in this animation created using visible image data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-West satellite. The animation covers the period from October 21 to October 23. Images from the satellite are available every 15 to 30 minutes. Smoke plumes from the wildfires are blown due west by powerful Santa Ana winds, drifting hundreds of miles out to sea. Play animation: + Low resolution (10Mb) + High resolution (50Mb) + High resolution - streaming
NASA Views Southern California Fires and Winds October 23, 2007 Update
With a click of the mouse button, the public can see NASA views from space, including some at Google Earth, of Southern California's raging wildfires and the ferocious Santa Ana winds that are driving them.
Images taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites are processed daily and made available by the JPL OnEarth Web Map Server, and at Google Earth. This service is part of NASA's ongoing collaborations with Google to make remote satellite imagery available to the public and decision makers. Latest Modis fire images at onearth.jpl.nasa.gov/socalfires
Interactive browser of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) /Aqua images collected yesterday afternoon, showing the smoke plumes from the South California fires.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages Aqua and Terra. Images from the NASA/JPL QuikScat satellite and Airs instrument on the Aqua satellite show the winds' powerful path.
A view from NASA's QuikScat satellite, obtained at about 7 a.m. October 22. Image credit: NASA/JPL+ Full image and caption
Multi-angle Views of Sunday Morning Fires
October 21, 2007 Update
Hot, dry Santa Ana winds began blowing through the Los Angeles and San Diego areas on Sunday October 21, 2007. Wind speeds ranging from 30 to 50 mph were measured in the area, with extremely low relative humidities. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team + Full image and caption
