July 9, 2007

HOT, DRY CONDITIONS SPARK WILDFIRES ACROSS WESTERN U.S.

A series of severe wildfires raged across the western United States on Sunday, July 8, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image. Actively burning fires are indicated with red pixels.

As this image shows, a number of states have been affected by fire activity, made worse by dry conditions, high temperatures and strong winds, according to fire officials.

California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana each reported wildfires of varying severity over the past few days. Many of these fires have forced evacuations and shut down highways.

One of the largest fires is currently burning in Utah, where winds fanned a massive blaze that has now burned more than 283,000 acres, according to fire officials. The wildfire is the largest in the history of the state.

Over the weekend, the National Incident Information Center received reports of 419 new fires, 56 of which are more than 500 acres large.

For a high-resolution image, visit:
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2007189-0708/UnitedStates.A2007189.1845.2km.jpg

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Contact:

Sarah L. DeWitt
Goddard Space Flight Center
Sarah.L.DeWitt@nasa.gov

This text is derived from:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/western_fires.html

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