MODIS Airborne Simulator Images of the Rodeo/Chediski Fire, Arizona
July 3, 2002

New images of Arizona’s Rodeo-Chediski wildfire, which according to news reports is the largest in the state’s history, have been acquired by NASA’s MODIS Airborne Simulator flying aboard the space agency’s ER-2 aircraft. The images show the extent of the burn area—now more than 450,000 acres�and pinpoint areas of active burning as of the morning of July 1. The images below include both true-color images and false-color images designed to highlight the burned areas. They were acquired during a transit of the ER-2 aircraft from NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. to Key West Naval Air Facility, Fla. in preparation for an upcoming field experiment. The newly acquired wildfire images will be used to validate rapid response wildfire maps produced by NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard the Terra spacecraft. They will also be provided to the U.S. Forest Service for potential use in post-fire damage assessments.

True Color North (large image)

This true-color image shows a close-up view of the northern perimeter of the fire. Burned areas at the bottom of the image are very dark gray and are easy to mistake for the dull green forest color. At the top of the image, the pale brownish-pink landscape of the southern portion of the Colorado Plateau is visible.

False Color North (shortwave infrared=red, near infrared=green, green=blue) (large image)

This false-color image shows the northern perimeter of the fire using band combinations that make it easy to distinguish vegetation (green) from burned areas (red). The fires have scorched the ridge-top terrain, and appeared to follow the path of a river at image right.

True Color South (large image)

Burned area at the top of this true-color image of the southern portion of the fire appears charcoal, and a smoke plume drifting southwest from the center of the image reveals the location of actively burning fire.

False Color South (shortwave infrared=red, near infrared=green, green=blue) (large image)

This false-color image of the southern portion of the fire shows that not all the terrain within the fire’s perimeter burned to the same degree. Burned areas are red and remaining vegetation is green. In the center of the image, the bright orange pixels are actively burning fire, and the smoke drifting southward from the blaze appears blue.

See additional images in the Earth Observatory’s Natural Hazards section.

Images courtesy of MODIS Airborne Simulator ER-2 team, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California.