Multisensor Fire Observations
From space, we can understand fires in ways that are impossible from the ground. New Earth-observing satellites capture the significant impact of fires on our planet. In this animation of fires around the globe in 2002, each red dot marks a new fire. Dots change color to yellow after a few days and to black when fires burn out. From brush fires in Africa to forest fires in North America, satellites are locating every significant fire on Earth to within one kilometer. In the summer and fall burning seasons, particularly destructive fires occurred in Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon.
High resolution thermal data for the Biscuit Fire measured on August 14, 2002, by the ASTER instrument on the Terra satellite. Bright purple regions represent currently active fire regions, while dark purple regions are older burned areas. The red and yellow areas represent the fire incidence data for the same day from the MODIS instrument.