By Jonathan Lloyd
NASA is tracking wildfires globally, offering a view from high above Earth that reveals the scope and size of major fires, some of which produce smoke plumes that stretch for miles.
Using satellite imagery systems, researchers can illustrate a fire’s location and provide more information about fire behavior. In the images below, for example, red outlines with smoke indicate areas of active fire. Many of the images are produced using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Rapid Response System (MODIS), which provides daily satellite images in near real-time. Firefighting agencies can use the images to track fires. MODIS also can tell the difference between flames and smoldering burns, giving researchers a better idea of how much particulate matter, which can affect air quality, is released by fires.
The images below are just some of those collected by NASA satellites, which detect wildfires in addition to prescribed fires set to clear dry brush and other fuels from an area, helping firefighters with containment efforts when a wildfire does break out.
The Rhea Fire started on Thursday April 12, 2018 during a stretch of high fire danger days in the Midwest. It is located in Dewey County, Oklahoma.
Blown over a widespread area by strong winds, smoke from the Thomas fire can be seen Dec. 16, 2017. Winds were forecast to die down for a couple of days before picking up again this week.
NASA satellite imagery shows smoke from the Thomas fire as it burned for an 11th day Wednesday Dec. 13, 2017 in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
This photo was taken Dec. 8 from the International Space Station flyover of Southern California. NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik photographed the plumes of smoke rising from wildfires.
A thick stream of smoke is seen above a ridge of clouds from space in this Dec. 5, 2017, MODIS photo taken by NASA’s Terra satellite. The Thomas fire, fed by powerful Santa Ana winds, burned through 55,000 acres in Ventura county.
An Oct. 24, 2017 image from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite shows the expansive fire scar on the landscape of California’s wine country due to the October Fire Siege. Burned areas appear in dark gray, vegetation is displayed in red. The image covers an area of 38 by 39 miles.
This image captured Wednesday Oct. 11, 2017 shows the deadly and destructive Northern California wildfires after they jumped in size. High cirrus clouds partially obstruct the view of smoke.
This image of smoke from Northern California’s fires was captured Oct. 10, 2017. Together, the wildfires are among the deadliest and most destructive in the state’s history.
This image from NASA’s Aqua satellite shows more than a dozen fires burning in Northern California Oct. 9, 2017. The fires were fanned by 60-mph winds in California’s wine country.
This image shows one of Los Angeles’ largest wildfires — the September 2017 La Tuna fire in the foothills north of Los Angeles. In this image from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite, vegetation is depicted in red — such as the golf courses visible in the hills above Burbank. Burned area is in dark gray. The image was acquired Oct. 7, 2017.