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July 2, 2007
FAST MOVING UTAH FIRE PROVES DEADLY
A
devastating fire tore through northeastern Utah over the
weekend, killing three and
forcing hundreds to evacuate.
As of July 2, 2007, the rapidly growing fire had already scorched more
than 46
square miles of land just north of Neola, Utah, about 100 miles east of
Salt
Lake City. According to the National Interagency Fire Center,
only 5 percent of
the blaze has been contained at this time.
The
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua
satellite
captured this image of the Neola North Fire on July 1, 2007.
Actively burning fires are
outlined in red. Thick smoke from the blaze can be seen on the right
side of
the image, mingling with the clouds overhead.
The wildfire started on the morning of Friday, June
29, 2007, and quickly spread to Ashley
National Forest,
which fire officials subsequently closed
to the public.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports that about 300 people
are
currently under a mandatory evacuation order, and that number may
increase.
In neighboring Dryfork Canyon,
just 8 miles
northeast of the fire, 150 homes could become threatened by July 3.
Fire
officials speculate that if there is no change in the weather there is
potential for the fire to grow.
Low winds and humidity on top of high temperatures have fueled the
flames. The
National Weather Service is predicting similar conditions for the next
several
days.
For
a high-resolution image, visit:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14344
##
Contact:
Sarah
L. DeWitt
Goddard Space
Flight Center
Sarah.L.DeWitt@nasa.gov
This
text is derived from:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/utah_fire.html
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