Fires near Lake Baikal, Russia
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Credit
Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
To the west of Lake Baikal, Russia, smoke from scores of fires is streaming northwestward in this true-color MODIS image from May 15, 2002. According to media reports, a state of emergency was declared on May 17 near the city of Irkutsk, located along the Angara River, less than a hundred miles northwest from where the Angara drains from Lake Baikal (lower right). The raging fires have destroyed numerous homes in the region and have been burning for many weeks.