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August
2, 2007
NATION’S MOST ACTIVE
WILDFIRES RAGE IN MONTANA
Several
large wildfires are burning out of control in the Rocky Mountains of
Montana. Montana
currently has
the most wildfire activity of any state, with 12 large fires burning
more than
93,970 acres as of Aug. 1, 2007, according to the National Interagency
Fire
Center (NIFC).
Fires have forced the closure of a number of highways over the past
several
days, and several communities located near these massive blazes have
been evacuated,
according to news reports.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that Montana’s
northern Rockies
experienced a moderate to
sever drought in late July. These dry conditions have helped fuel these
severe
fires.
As of Aug. 1, 2007, the largest fires in the state were the Meriwether
and
Ahorn fires, burning 20,745 and 36,311 acres respectively. However,
over the
past 24 hours, the Skyland fire has spread rapidly, growing by an
estimated
7,505 acres to a total of 16,055 acres, the NIFC reports.
Although Aug. 1, 2007, marks the beginning of the summer wildfire
season,
drought and high temperatures have brought extreme fire activity to
this area
early.
For
the high-resolution image, visit:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14422
##
Contact:
Sarah L.
DeWitt
NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center
Sarah.L.DeWitt@nasa.gov
This
text is derived from:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/mont_fires.html
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