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Images of Idaho and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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Western Fires: Fast Approach
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| Title |
Western Fires: Fast Approach with State Lines |
| Abstract |
Western Fires. Fast Approach with State Lines. August 6, 2000 |
| Completed |
2000-08-07 |
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Western Fires (short version
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| Title |
Western Fires (short version) |
| Abstract |
Western Fires (short version). August 6, 2000 |
| Completed |
2000-08-07 |
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Fires in Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Idaho |
| Abstract |
Fires in Idaho. July 23-24, 2000 |
| Completed |
2000-07-25 |
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Agricultural Fires in Washin
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| Title |
Agricultural Fires in Washington |
| Description |
Fall has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means it?s harvest time. In the wheat fields of Washington and Idaho in the northwestern United States, scattered fires (red dots) burn through the wheat stubble. Because of the semi-arid climate of this region, wheat is an important crop, Washington is the third-largest wheat producer in the US, and Idaho is the eighth. Surrounding the tan wheat fields are the Cascade Mountains (west), the Bitterroot Range (east), and the Blue Mountains (south). Aqua MODIS acquired this true-color image on September 22, 2003. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
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Black Pine 2 Fire, Idaho
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Black Pine 2 Fire, Idaho |
| Description |
East of the Raft River in southern Idaho, the Black Pine 2 Fire had scorched more than 50,000 acres of grassland, brush, and juniper as of July 11, 2007, according to the morning report from the National Interagency Fire Center. This image of the fire was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite on July 10. The area in which MODIS detected actively burning fire is outlined in red. Smoke spreads east and mingles with clouds. The burned area appears a deep brown against the tan color of the grasslands and the dull green of forests on mountain slopes. Green circles that line the Raft River and tributaries are fields watered with a center-pivot irrigation system. At the top of the image is Lake Walcott, which is on the Snake River. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1 ] images of the western United States in additional resolutions and formats, including an infrared-enhanced version that makes burned areas appear brick red. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Blizzards in the Western Uni
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| Title |
Blizzards in the Western United States |
| Description |
A series of heavy winter storms pummeled parts of the western United States between December 24, 2003, and January 3, 2004, blanketing the region with deep snow. Salt Lake City, Utah, reported more than six feet of snow, according to news reports. The blizzards that rolled through California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado closed roads, knocked out power, and claimed at least two lives in subsequent avalanches. These Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) images, taken on January 5, 2004, by the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, show the extent of the snowfall from California in the west to the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Colorado in the east. The Great Salt Lake is the two-toned body of water in the center of the images. In the top image, shown in true color, only a sliver of green land west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains can be see on the left side of the image?clouds and snow obscure the rest of the landscape. The bottom image shows the same scene in false color. Here, snow and ice are dark red and orange, while clouds are white and peach. Water is black. The false color image helps differentiate between cloud cover and snow and ice on the ground. The high resolution images provided above are at 500 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Blizzards in the Western Uni
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| Title |
Blizzards in the Western United States |
| Description |
A series of heavy winter storms pummeled parts of the western United States between December 24, 2003, and January 3, 2004, blanketing the region with deep snow. Salt Lake City, Utah, reported more than six feet of snow, according to news reports. The blizzards that rolled through California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado closed roads, knocked out power, and claimed at least two lives in subsequent avalanches. These Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) images, taken on January 5, 2004, by the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, show the extent of the snowfall from California in the west to the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Colorado in the east. The Great Salt Lake is the two-toned body of water in the center of the images. In the top image, shown in true color, only a sliver of green land west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains can be see on the left side of the image?clouds and snow obscure the rest of the landscape. The bottom image shows the same scene in false color. Here, snow and ice are dark red and orange, while clouds are white and peach. Water is black. The false color image helps differentiate between cloud cover and snow and ice on the ground. The high resolution images provided above are at 500 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Blizzards in the Western Uni
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| Title |
Blizzards in the Western United States |
| Description |
A series of heavy winter storms pummeled parts of the western United States between December 24, 2003, and January 3, 2004, blanketing the region with deep snow. Salt Lake City, Utah, reported more than six feet of snow, according to news reports. The blizzards that rolled through California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado closed roads, knocked out power, and claimed at least two lives in subsequent avalanches. These Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) images, taken on January 5, 2004, by the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, show the extent of the snowfall from California in the west to the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Colorado in the east. The Great Salt Lake is the two-toned body of water in the center of the images. In the top image, shown in true color, only a sliver of green land west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains can be see on the left side of the image?clouds and snow obscure the rest of the landscape. The bottom image shows the same scene in false color. Here, snow and ice are dark red and orange, while clouds are white and peach. Water is black. The false color image helps differentiate between cloud cover and snow and ice on the ground. The high resolution images provided above are at 500 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Burn Scars in the Pacific No
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| Title |
Burn Scars in the Pacific Northwest |
| Description |
Fire season is winding down in western North America, but this false-color image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite reveals the season?s fire-scarred landscape. Vegetation is in shades of green, while burned areas are red. Scars dot the Northern Rockies from Canada (roughly top half of image) to Montana (bottom right) and Idaho, to its west. Additional large scars are visible in the Coast Mountains (left) which stretch from British Columbia, Canada, southward into Washington. Clouds are white and light blue, lakes and rivers are dark blue, and snow is bright blue. Naturally bare ground (or extremely low vegetation), such as on the highest mountains ridges at top center, or in the Columbia River Basin (bottom center), is pinkish tan. MODIS captured this image on October 4, 2003. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Charleston Fire, Northern Ne
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| Title |
Charleston Fire, Northern Nevada |
| Description |
In northeastern Nevada, a 20,000-acre fire was racing through sagebrush, grass, and juniper on August 16, 2006. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] a power line, residences, and grazing allotments were being threatened by the Charleston Fire. The fire was exhibiting extreme behavior according to the August 17 report. This pair of images of the Charleston Fire, burning in the area between Nevada's Matterhorn and the Marys River, was captured on August 16 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. The photo-like, "natural-color" image on top shows places where MODIS detected active fire outlined in red. Thick smoke pours northeastward into Idaho. The bottom image has been enhanced using MODIS' observations of shortwave and near-infrared light to penetrate the smoke, to emphasize extremely hot areas (bright pink), and to distinguish burned vegetation (brick red) from unburned vegetation (bright green). In this kind of false-color image, the bright pink glow inside some of the active-fire perimeters often indicates open flame. According to the Western Great Basin Coordination Center of the National Interagency Fire Center, the region was primed for big fires in summer 2006 because of poor snowfall over the winter. A prolific grass crop from 2005, which normally would have been flattened and compacted by winter's heavy snow, remained standing across grasslands in spring 2006. In addition, a wet spring produced luxuriant new growth, which dried as the summer progressed. The standing grass from 2005 combined with the abundant early-2006 growth created a dangerously high load of fuel for summer fires. In July, the agency issued a fuel and fire behavior advisory, [ http://gacc.nifc.gov/wgbc/safetywarning/FireAdvisory_GB-05Jul06%5b1%5d.pdf ] warning that the accumulation of such large amounts of "fine fuels" like grass had increased the risk of intense, severe, and rapidly spreading fires across much of the Western Great Basin, including northern Nevada. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images of the entire western United States at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1 ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Haze over the Great Lakes
| Title |
Haze over the Great Lakes |
| Description |
Haze collected over the Great Lakes region at the end of July 2007. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on July 31. In this image, the haze appears as a blue-gray film, thickest over northern Michigan and Lake Superior. Haze also obscures the view of Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Although the exact source of the haze was uncertain, it could have resulted from fires in Canada [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14405 ] or the United States. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14398 ] An August 1, 2007, posting on the U.S. Air Quality [ http://alg.umbc.edu/usaq/ ] (Smog Blog) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, traced a trajectory of smoke from fires in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana passing over the Great Lakes region and continuing southeast toward Baltimore. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA3/ ] of this region. |
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Haze over Utah
| Title |
Haze over Utah |
| Description |
Haze clouded the skies over the southwestern United States, especially Utah, on September 8, 2007. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite took this picture the same day. In this image, the pale colors dominating western Utah result partly from the light hues of the underlying ground surface, but a substantial gray-beige mass hangs in the atmosphere. The haze is thick enough to almost completely obscure the view of the Great Salt Lake. Although the exact origin of Utah's early September haze was not clear, it probably resulted from smoke released by fires to the north and west in Idaho and California. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Heatwave in the Western Unit
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| Title |
Heatwave in the Western United States |
| Description |
The oppressive heat that crept over parts of the western United States during the first few days of July 2007 [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14380 ] took hold of the entire West during the week of July 4 through July 11. Deep red tones blanket every western state in this land surface temperature image, an indication that temperatures were warmer than in previous years. The image was made with data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite and shows temperatures recorded between July 4 and July 11, 2007, compared to the average of temperatures observed during the same period in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Areas that are warmer than during that three-year period are red, while cooler areas are blue. Triple-digit temperatures broke or matched records from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Great Falls, Montana, during this period. In this image, a cluster of red-black over eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and eastern Montana indicates that these regions experienced much warmer temperatures than in previous years. Western South Dakota (the Black Hills region) was also exceptionally warm. On the other end of the scale, Texas was much cooler than it had been in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Heavy rains pounded Texas on and off throughout this period, contributing to wide-spread flooding. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14363 ] You can download a global KMZ file of Land Surface Temperature anomaly [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/kansas_ast_2007187.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Land Processes [ http://modis-land.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Drought in the Pacific North
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| Title |
Drought in the Pacific Northwest |
| Description |
As summer headed toward fall in 2007, much of the United States was experiencing drought. [ http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] This image shows relative vegetation greenness from August 13-28, 2007, compared to the average greenness for 2000–2006. Greenness is a general indicator of the area covered by vegetation, as well as its density and health. The image was made with observations collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. In many parts of the Northwest, vegetation conditions were near average (yellow areas) compared to conditions for the previous 6 years. But aside from areas that were near average, this vegetation anomaly image reveals more brown (below-average conditions) than green (above-average conditions). The most dramatic brown spots, such as those concentrated in central Idaho, mark areas recently scorched by fires. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14515 ] Only in a few locations in the Northwest does a tinge of green emerge from the landscape, irrigated croplands (green specks) along the Snake and Columbia Rivers mix with what are probably fallow fields (brown specks). NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of Inbal Reshef, Global Agriculture Monitoring Project [ http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/glam.cfm ] |
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Fires Across the United Stat
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| Title |
Fires Across the United States |
| Description |
This expansive image of the United States was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra and Aqua satellites. The left hand portion of the image comes from Aqua MODIS observations captured on the afternoon of October 22, 2003, while the right hand part of the image is from Terra MODIS observations captured a few hours earlier. Several geographic regions are experiencing fires, which were detected by the sensors and are marked with red dots. At upper left, fires are still burning across the Northern Rockies, the highest concentration is in Idaho, with additional fires in Montana to its east, and southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, to the west. In the Southwest, fires are burning in southern California near Los Angeles (gray patch right at edge of image to the north of the Baja Peninsula), as well as in the arc of mountains running through Arizona. At top center, fires are scattered across the northern Great Plains, from North Dakota and across the United States? border into Canada. Far to the south, dozens more fires are burning in the Mississippi River Valley in Mississippi (against right edge), Louisiana (to the west) and Arkansas (north of Louisiana). The high-resolution image provided above is 2 kilometers per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
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Fires Across the United Stat
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| Title |
Fires Across the United States |
| Description |
This expansive image of the United States was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra and Aqua satellites. The left hand portion of the image comes from Aqua MODIS observations captured on the afternoon of October 22, 2003, while the right hand part of the image is from Terra MODIS observations captured a few hours earlier. Several geographic regions are experiencing fires, which were detected by the sensors and are marked with red dots. At upper left, fires are still burning across the Northern Rockies, the highest concentration is in Idaho, with additional fires in Montana to its east, and southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, to the west. In the Southwest, fires are burning in southern California near Los Angeles (gray patch right at edge of image to the north of the Baja Peninsula), as well as in the arc of mountains running through Arizona. At top center, fires are scattered across the northern Great Plains, from North Dakota and across the United States? border into Canada. Far to the south, dozens more fires are burning in the Mississippi River Valley in Mississippi (against right edge), Louisiana (to the west) and Arkansas (north of Louisiana). The high-resolution image provided above is 2 kilometers per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
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Murphy Complex Fire
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Murphy Complex Fire |
| Description |
When two large, previously separate wildfires (Rowland and Elk Mountain) near the Idaho-Nevada state line merged over the July 21 weekend, fire management officials renamed the incident as the Murphy Complex Fire. According to the morning report from the National Interagency Fire Center on July 23, 2007, the blaze had consumed more than 560,000 acres and was 15 percent contained. This image of the Murphy Complex Fire was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on July 22. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fire are outlined in red. The dry grassland and sagebrush terrain appears olive-tan, while the sprawling burned area appears deep brown. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1 ] images of the western United States in additional resolutions. Images of the separate fires were previously published in the Fires in Idaho and Eastern Oregon [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14398 ] event. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Idaho |
| Description |
Numerous wildfires were burning in Idaho on August 13, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite passed overhead and captured this image. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. The largest fire in the scene is the Ola Complex, burning in grass, sagebrush, and timber between Cascade Reservoir and the Payette River. According to the August 14 report from the National Interagency Fire Center, [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] the complex was estimated to be 25,000 acres and 20 percent contained. Scattered fires were burning in numerous locations in the Salmon River Mountains. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images of the area at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Rimrock ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Idaho |
| Description |
In wilderness areas of central Idaho's Salmon River, Bitterroot, and Sawtooth Mountain Ranges, numerous fires were burning in mid-August 2006. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite passed overhead on August 14, the sensor detected more than a dozen active fires (locations marked in red) burning in the area. Across the state line in Montana, several fires are visible as well. Although there are no large cities in the area, residences, ranches, communications and power infrastructure, historic and recreational sites, and mining resources are threatened by the various blazes. The remote location and rugged terrain make fires in the area difficult to contain. For more information about the fires in Idaho and the rest of the United States, visit the Website of the National Interagency Fire Center. [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Rimrock ] of the area at additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Idaho |
| Description |
Parallel plumes of smoke blow northeast from several fires burning in central Idaho's Salmon River Mountains in this image captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on August 23, 2006. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. Although much of the Salmon River Mountains region is wilderness area, there are scattered communities, and some of the fires are threatening homes, campgrounds, and power lines. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides images of the entire western United States at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1 ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Idaho and Eastern O
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| Title |
Fires in Idaho and Eastern Oregon |
| Description |
Fire activity ramped up across the U.S. West near the end of the third week of July 2007. Dry thunderstorms (lightning and winds, but no rain) ignited hundreds of fires in a matter of days, and many of these became large blazes that raced through dry grass, sagebrush, and forests. This image of southern Idaho and eastern Oregon shows several large fires (outlined in red) billowing out thick clouds of smoke on July 18, 2007. The image and fire detections were captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/fas/?USA1 ] images of the region in additional resolutions and formats, including an infrared-enhanced version that makes burned landscapes stand out in brick red. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Idaho and Eastern O
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| Title |
Fires in Idaho and Eastern Oregon |
| Description |
MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC, Strong winds fanned wildfires across the western United States on July 19, 2007. The hot, dry, windy conditions led the National Interagency Fire Center to move to a National Preparedness Level [ http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/pl_desc.html ] of 5 on a five-point scale, indicating that the fires were numerous, large, and widespread enough to potentially exhaust fire-fighting resources. More than a million acres were burning across the United States in 72 large wildfires on July 19, 2007, said the National Interagency Fire Center. [ http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm ] Among the largest fires were the Rowland and Elk Mountain fires burning in southwestern Idaho. The active fronts of these fires are outlined in red in this pair of photo-like images acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on July 19, 2007. The top image was taken at 12:25 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time, when the MODIS on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite passed over head. The active parts of the Elk Mountain fire surround a dark brown oval of charred land. The fast-moving flames had consumed much of this area in the previous 24 hours. A MODIS image taken on the afternoon of July 18, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14396 ] reveals that the fire had been relatively small the previous day, and little land around the fire was charred. The Rowland fire, by contrast, was smaller on July 19 than it had been on July 18. At 2:05 p.m. on July 19, less than two hours after the top image was taken, the MODIS sensor aboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the lower image. In the two-hour period between images, winds and fire activity picked up substantially. By the time of the second image, the fires were racing through grass and sagebrush and pumping out dense plumes of smoke. The smoke obscures the burned land and the surrounding desert landscape. Strong winds were pulling the smoke north in long plumes that stretch over the green and gold Snake River Plain. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that both the Rowland and Elk Mountain fires exhibited extreme fire behavior, [ http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/glossary.html#E ] with fast-moving or unpredictable flames, and that it threatened structures and power lines. On July 20, the Rowland fire had burned 95,000 acres and was 15 percent contained, while the Elk Mountain fire had burned 160,000 acres (up from 25,000 acres the day before) and was 10 percent contained, said NIFC. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. They stretch south to include much of Nevada and Utah. Both the 12:25 and 2:05 images are available in a variety of resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response System. Images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, |
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Fires in Idaho and Eastern O
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| Title |
Fires in Idaho and Eastern Oregon |
| Description |
MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC, Strong winds fanned wildfires across the western United States on July 19, 2007. The hot, dry, windy conditions led the National Interagency Fire Center to move to a National Preparedness Level [ http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/pl_desc.html ] of 5 on a five-point scale, indicating that the fires were numerous, large, and widespread enough to potentially exhaust fire-fighting resources. More than a million acres were burning across the United States in 72 large wildfires on July 19, 2007, said the National Interagency Fire Center. [ http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm ] Among the largest fires were the Rowland and Elk Mountain fires burning in southwestern Idaho. The active fronts of these fires are outlined in red in this pair of photo-like images acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on July 19, 2007. The top image was taken at 12:25 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time, when the MODIS on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite passed over head. The active parts of the Elk Mountain fire surround a dark brown oval of charred land. The fast-moving flames had consumed much of this area in the previous 24 hours. A MODIS image taken on the afternoon of July 18, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14396 ] reveals that the fire had been relatively small the previous day, and little land around the fire was charred. The Rowland fire, by contrast, was smaller on July 19 than it had been on July 18. At 2:05 p.m. on July 19, less than two hours after the top image was taken, the MODIS sensor aboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the lower image. In the two-hour period between images, winds and fire activity picked up substantially. By the time of the second image, the fires were racing through grass and sagebrush and pumping out dense plumes of smoke. The smoke obscures the burned land and the surrounding desert landscape. Strong winds were pulling the smoke north in long plumes that stretch over the green and gold Snake River Plain. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that both the Rowland and Elk Mountain fires exhibited extreme fire behavior, [ http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/glossary.html#E ] with fast-moving or unpredictable flames, and that it threatened structures and power lines. On July 20, the Rowland fire had burned 95,000 acres and was 15 percent contained, while the Elk Mountain fire had burned 160,000 acres (up from 25,000 acres the day before) and was 10 percent contained, said NIFC. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. They stretch south to include much of Nevada and Utah. Both the 12:25 and 2:05 images are available in a variety of resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response System. Images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, |
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Fires in Idaho and Eastern O
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| Title |
Fires in Idaho and Eastern Oregon |
| Description |
MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC, Strong winds fanned wildfires across the western United States on July 19, 2007. The hot, dry, windy conditions led the National Interagency Fire Center to move to a National Preparedness Level [ http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/pl_desc.html ] of 5 on a five-point scale, indicating that the fires were numerous, large, and widespread enough to potentially exhaust fire-fighting resources. More than a million acres were burning across the United States in 72 large wildfires on July 19, 2007, said the National Interagency Fire Center. [ http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm ] Among the largest fires were the Rowland and Elk Mountain fires burning in southwestern Idaho. The active fronts of these fires are outlined in red in this pair of photo-like images acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on July 19, 2007. The top image was taken at 12:25 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time, when the MODIS on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite passed over head. The active parts of the Elk Mountain fire surround a dark brown oval of charred land. The fast-moving flames had consumed much of this area in the previous 24 hours. A MODIS image taken on the afternoon of July 18, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14396 ] reveals that the fire had been relatively small the previous day, and little land around the fire was charred. The Rowland fire, by contrast, was smaller on July 19 than it had been on July 18. At 2:05 p.m. on July 19, less than two hours after the top image was taken, the MODIS sensor aboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the lower image. In the two-hour period between images, winds and fire activity picked up substantially. By the time of the second image, the fires were racing through grass and sagebrush and pumping out dense plumes of smoke. The smoke obscures the burned land and the surrounding desert landscape. Strong winds were pulling the smoke north in long plumes that stretch over the green and gold Snake River Plain. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that both the Rowland and Elk Mountain fires exhibited extreme fire behavior, [ http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/glossary.html#E ] with fast-moving or unpredictable flames, and that it threatened structures and power lines. On July 20, the Rowland fire had burned 95,000 acres and was 15 percent contained, while the Elk Mountain fire had burned 160,000 acres (up from 25,000 acres the day before) and was 10 percent contained, said NIFC. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. They stretch south to include much of Nevada and Utah. Both the 12:25 and 2:05 images are available in a variety of resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response System. Images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, |
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Fires in Montana and Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Montana and Idaho |
| Description |
In the northern Rocky Mountains of Idaho and Montana, dozens of large, dangerous wildfires burned tens of thousands of acres in late July and early August 2007. Several communities in Montana were under evacuation on August 1, according to the daily report from the National Interagency Fire Center. [ http://www.nifc.gov/ ] Like much of the United States (with the notable exception of the southern Great Plains [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14356 ]), the Northern Rockies of Montana and Idaho were experiencing moderate to severe drought in late July according to the weekly report from the U.S. Drought Monitor. This image of Montana (with a little bit of Idaho included in the lower-left corner) was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on July 31, 2007. Locations where the sensor detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. A westerly wind appeared to have been blowing at the time of the image (2:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time), and plumes of smoke spread from the mountains over the state's eastern plains. As of August 1, the Meriwether (20,745 acres) and Ahorn (36,311 acres) were the largest fires in the scene, but the Skyland Fire had grown most rapidly in the previous 24 hours, it grew by an estimated 7,505 acres to a total of 16,055 acres. NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] and Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellites both collect fire detection data over the United States at least twice a day, once in daylight and once at night. Through a partnership between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] the University of Maryland, [ http://maps.geog.umd.edu/firms//default.asp ] and the Remote Sensing Application Center [ http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/rsac/ ] of the USDA Forest Service, the satellite observations are relayed over the Internet to the Forest Service, which maps them. [ http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/ ] The Forest Service and its partners use the MODIS fire maps to help them make strategic decisions about where firefighting resources are needed at a national level. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Missoula/ ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Montana and Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Montana and Idaho |
| Description |
Dozens of large fires were raging across the Northern Rockies in Idaho and Montana in mid-August 2007. This image of the area was captured on Sunday, August 12, at 2:55 p.m. U.S. Mountain Daylight Time by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. Dozens of fires (marked in red) were billowing out clouds of gray-brown smoke that spread across both states. Fires appeared especially active in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness area south of the Salmon River. According to the August 12 report from the National Interagency Fire Center, [ http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info.html ] 31 large fires were burning more than 753,000 acres in the two states, and activity was predicted to increase in the coming days as sustained winds of 15-20 miles per hour were predicted to race across the Great Basin and Northern Rockies. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Missoula ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Montana and Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Montana and Idaho |
| Description |
Columns of thick smoke unfurled from forest fires burning across Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming and spread eastward across the plains at the foothills of the Northern Rocky Mountains on August 13, 2007. This image of the area was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite at 2:00 p.m. local time (U.S. Mountain Daylight Time). Locations where the sensor detected active fire are outlined in red. Fires are especially active in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area south of Idaho's Salmon River. Gray-brown smoke cuts a diagonal swath across the center of the image. Smoke from these fires has been crossing the United States off and on throughout August, degrading air quality as far away as the East Coast. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Missoula ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Fires in Montana and Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Montana and Idaho |
| Description |
In the Northern Rockies of Idaho and Montana, conditions were dry in July and August 2007. Dozens of large forest fires were burning in the area's remote, rugged terrain, much of which is federally designated wilderness area. This image of the area was captured on August 1, 2007, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fire are outlined in red. Dozens of large fires filled the skies with thick smoke. According to the August 1 report from the National Interagency Fire Center, [ http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm ] 11 large fires totaling more than 880,000 thousand acres were burning in Idaho. Five of these had been designated "Wildland Fire Use" fires, which means they will be allowed to burn according to pre-existing natural resource management plans. Because the forests of the Northern Rockies are adapted to naturally ignited fires, some fires must be allowed to burn to maintain the ecosystem in a healthy state. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Missoula ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Montana and Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Montana and Idaho |
| Description |
Intense wildfires (location in red) raged in Idaho and Montana when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on August 4, 2007. According to reports from the National Interagency Fire Center [ http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm ] on August 7, Idaho and Montana each had 14 large fires burning, with windy weather predicted to increase fire behavior in the area in subsequent days. In Montana, the fires had affected more than 255,000 acres, in Idaho, fires had affected nearly 400,000 acres. These fires produced smoke [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14434 ] that blanketed much of the United States. You can download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of the fires in Montana and Idaho [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Aug2007/montana_amo_2007216.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Fires in Montana and Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Montana and Idaho |
| Description |
According to the September 4 report from the National Interagency Fire Center, 24 large fires burned in Montana and Idaho in early September 2007. Many of these fires had been burning in the states' remote, mountainous terrain for more than a month. Throughout the summer, the fires occasionally produced thick clouds of smoke that spread across the Great Plains and as far as the East Coast. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite shows the fires (red outlines) on September 3, 2007. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Missoula ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Montana and Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Montana and Idaho |
| Description |
More than a dozen large fires (some of them fire complexes that included more than one fire) were burning in Idaho and Montana on September 12, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite passed overhead and captured this image. Fires (outlined in red) have been burning in these areas since late July. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14422 ] Fire activity has flared up and then died down periodically, and plumes of smoke [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14434 ] have crossed the country to the East Coast off and on. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Missoula/ ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in Nevada and Idaho
| Title |
Fires in Nevada and Idaho |
| Description |
In northern Nevada, two large fires were racing through sagebrush and grass on July 18, 2005, when this image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. Active fire locations that MODIS detected are marked in red. Both the Esmerelda and Wilson Complex Fires were damaging livestock forage areas, as well as native animal habitat. To the north, in Idaho, the Clover Fire was burning in a southeast direction, creating a dark brown burn scar that looks much like the lava rocks of the Craters of the Moon National Monument. As of July 19, 2005, the Clover Fire was estimated to have burned 183,000 acres, the Wilson Fire: 57,500 acres, and the Esmerelda Fire: 75,000 acres. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of Oregon State University?s MODIS Direct Broadcast data facility. |
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School Fire in Washington
| Title |
School Fire in Washington |
| Description |
On August 10, 2005, the School Fire in southeastern Washington was still billowing thick smoke. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this image, the sensor detected several areas of active fire (outlined in red). Additional fires were burning in Oregon and Idaho, though none were as large as the School Fire. For information on the status of fires across the United States, visit the Current Wildland Fire Information [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] Website of the National Interagency Fire Center. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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School Fire in Washington
| Title |
School Fire in Washington |
| Description |
On August 10, 2005, the School Fire in southeastern Washington was still billowing thick smoke. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this image, the sensor detected several areas of active fire (outlined in red). Additional fires were burning in Oregon and Idaho, though none were as large as the School Fire. For information on the status of fires across the United States, visit the Current Wildland Fire Information [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] Website of the National Interagency Fire Center. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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School Fire in Washington
| Title |
School Fire in Washington |
| Description |
In southeastern Washington, the School Fire was raging through the Umatilla National Forest about 16 miles south of the town of Pomery. According to reports from the National Interagency Fire Center on August 8, 2005, the fire had grown to 32,000 acres and was not at all contained. This image of the region was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on August 7. It shows thick smoke pouring from the burning forest and spreading across Idaho and into Montana. Areas where MODIS detected active fire are outlined in red. The high-resolution image provided above is 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center |
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School Fire, Washington
| Title |
School Fire, Washington |
| Description |
In southeastern Washington in early August 2005, the School Fire was raging through the Umatilla National Forest about 16 miles south of the town of Pomery. By August 11, 2005, the fire had consumed 42,000 acres, and was 40% contained. In addition, the fire destroyed 87 buildings, including 49 residences. Other buildings in the area are under evacuation orders, and several roads are closed. On August 10, 2005, the School Fire was still billowing thick smoke. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this image, the sensor detected several areas of active fire (outlined in red). Additional fires were burning in Oregon and Idaho, though none were as large as the School Fire. Information on the status of fires across the United States, visit the Current Wildland Fire Information [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] Website of the National Interagency Fire Center. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1/2005222 ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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School Fire, Washington
| Title |
School Fire, Washington |
| Description |
In southeastern Washington in early August 2005, the School Fire was raging through the Umatilla National Forest about 16 miles south of the town of Pomery. By August 11, 2005, the fire had consumed 42,000 acres, and was 40% contained. In addition, the fire destroyed 87 buildings, including 49 residences. Other buildings in the area are under evacuation orders, and several roads are closed. On August 10, 2005, the School Fire was still billowing thick smoke. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this image, the sensor detected several areas of active fire (outlined in red). Additional fires were burning in Oregon and Idaho, though none were as large as the School Fire. Information on the status of fires across the United States, visit the Current Wildland Fire Information [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] Website of the National Interagency Fire Center. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1/2005222 ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Smoke from fires in Idaho an
…
| Title |
Smoke from fires in Idaho and Montana |
| Description |
Some things are so large that the perspective from space is necessary to appreciate them. One of those things is the long-distance impact that pollutants like smoke or dust can have on air quality. On August 4, 2007, for example, fires raging in Montana and Idaho polluted the air over much of the United States. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) onboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image of the smoke and fires on the afternoon of August 4. The lower image is a mosaic of four separate flyovers (separated by faint diagonal lines), while the top image is a close-up view of the smoke and haze along the northeastern seaboard. Strong winds on August 4 created uncontrollable firestorms that forced the evacuation of at least two communities in Montana, reported the Missoulian. Fires in Montana and Idaho are marked with red dots in the lower image and are more clearly visible in the large image. In addition to fueling the flames, the winds blew dense plumes of smoke northeast. The thickest plumes rise from the fires in northwestern Montana. By the time the smoke reached eastern Montana, the plumes were no longer distinct. The air was clouded with a soupy, gray haze that curves north into Canada. High-level winds pushed the smoke south over the western Great Lakes, and into the central and southern United States. From the bank of clouds over Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico, the air was white-gray with haze. From the central United States, the plume of pollution snaked over the Mid-Atlantic States and the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, where it turned north and flowed along the coast. Some additional haze may line the coast south of Cape Hatteras, but reflected sunlight has turned the ocean's surface into a mirror, effectively masking the presence of any haze. The top image provides a closer view of the haze over the Atlantic Ocean from the Delmarva Peninsula along the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, to the Gulf of Maine, north of Cape Cod. By this point, smoke from the western wildfires is probably only one component of the haze. High temperatures and stagnant air also amplified the impact of urban pollution, creating Code Orange [ http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=static.aqi#unh ] air quality conditions, which are unhealthy for sensitive groups such as active children or adults or individuals with respiratory ailments. The jetstream—the fast-moving, high-level winds that steer weather systems—is defined by the stark boundary between the hazy air over the Mid-Atlantic and the clear air over New England. Jetstream winds are clearly blocking the smoke from traveling north. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC, which provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/fas/ ] of the United States in a clickable map. |
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Smoke from fires in Idaho an
…
| Title |
Smoke from fires in Idaho and Montana |
| Description |
Some things are so large that the perspective from space is necessary to appreciate them. One of those things is the long-distance impact that pollutants like smoke or dust can have on air quality. On August 4, 2007, for example, fires raging in Montana and Idaho polluted the air over much of the United States. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) onboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image of the smoke and fires on the afternoon of August 4. The lower image is a mosaic of four separate flyovers (separated by faint diagonal lines), while the top image is a close-up view of the smoke and haze along the northeastern seaboard. Strong winds on August 4 created uncontrollable firestorms that forced the evacuation of at least two communities in Montana, reported the Missoulian. Fires in Montana and Idaho are marked with red dots in the lower image and are more clearly visible in the large image. In addition to fueling the flames, the winds blew dense plumes of smoke northeast. The thickest plumes rise from the fires in northwestern Montana. By the time the smoke reached eastern Montana, the plumes were no longer distinct. The air was clouded with a soupy, gray haze that curves north into Canada. High-level winds pushed the smoke south over the western Great Lakes, and into the central and southern United States. From the bank of clouds over Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico, the air was white-gray with haze. From the central United States, the plume of pollution snaked over the Mid-Atlantic States and the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, where it turned north and flowed along the coast. Some additional haze may line the coast south of Cape Hatteras, but reflected sunlight has turned the ocean's surface into a mirror, effectively masking the presence of any haze. The top image provides a closer view of the haze over the Atlantic Ocean from the Delmarva Peninsula along the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, to the Gulf of Maine, north of Cape Cod. By this point, smoke from the western wildfires is probably only one component of the haze. High temperatures and stagnant air also amplified the impact of urban pollution, creating Code Orange [ http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=static.aqi#unh ] air quality conditions, which are unhealthy for sensitive groups such as active children or adults or individuals with respiratory ailments. The jetstream—the fast-moving, high-level winds that steer weather systems—is defined by the stark boundary between the hazy air over the Mid-Atlantic and the clear air over New England. Jetstream winds are clearly blocking the smoke from traveling north. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC, which provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/fas/ ] of the United States in a clickable map. |
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Smoke from fires in Idaho an
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| Title |
Smoke from fires in Idaho and Montana |
| Description |
On August 13, 2007, while docked to the International Space Station (ISS), the crew members of Shuttle Mission STS-118 and ISS Expedition 15 reported seeing the smoke plumes from wide-spread fires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3? img_id=14443 ] across Idaho and Montana. The crew photographed and downlinked images of isolated plumes (top image) and regional views of the smoke (bottom image) from different perspectives. Strong westerly winds were driving the smoke eastward. The close-up view shows the WH Complex Fire in southern Montana, which was burning in Gallatin National Forest. As of Friday, August 17, the National Interagency Fire Center [ http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info.html ] estimated its size as 25,400 acres, and it was only 5 percent contained. The rugged topography that makes firefighting in the area so difficult is highlighted by shadows created by the oblique (from the side) perspective from which the astronauts took the photo. The plume has topography of its own, some plumes towering above others, casting dark shadows. The regional view was taken looking westward toward the horizon. It shows fires not only in Montana, but also fires to the south in Wyoming, and to the northwest in Idaho. South (to the left) of the WH Complex Fire are the Columbine 1 Fire in Yellowstone National Park (18,500 acres and 0 percent contained), and the Hardscrabble Fire in Bridger-Teton National Forest (3,074 acres and 40 percent contained). An even broader regional view of the extent of the fires was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] sensor onboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on August 12, 2007, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3? img_id=17738 ] the day before these images were taken by astronauts onboard the ISS. Featured astronaut photographs ISS015-E-22274 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ scripts/sseop/photo.pl? mission=ISS015&roll=E&frame=22274&QueryResultsFile=118730112526521.tsv ] and ISS015-E-22276 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/ photo.pl? mission=ISS015&roll=E&frame=22276&QueryResultsFile=118730112526521.tsv ] were acquired by the ISS 15 crew [ http://www.nasa.gov/ mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html ]on August 13, 2007, with a Nikon D2X digital camera using a 24–120 mm lens at 95 and 40 mm focal length respectively. They are provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/ index.html ], supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Smoke over Montana
| Title |
Smoke over Montana |
| Description |
Smoke sprawled over much of Montana on July 29, 2007. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite captured this image the same day. This picture shows smoke mingling with clouds over Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. The smoke appears especially thick where the borders of Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan meet. The smoke can be distinguished from the clouds by its duller color and more diffuse outlines. As smoke collected over eastern Montana, wildfires burned in the western part of the state, as well as Idaho. The fires were the most likely source of the smoke. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA2/ ] of this region. |
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Snow Across the Western Unit
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| Title |
Snow Across the Western United States |
| Description |
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year in the United States as people return home from the four-day weekend. Sunday, November 28, 2004, was no exception, but this year, Mother Nature snarled traffic across a large swath of the west with an intense snow storm. The storm dumped up to 24 inches (0.6 meters) of snow on the mountains of southern Utah, and blanketed the surrounding states. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image the following day, on November 29, after the clouds moved out. The storm's path is clearly visible in this image: a track of white extends from southeastern Oregon and the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California to Colorado and New Mexico in the east. The National Weather Service reports that the storm moved east across the Plains States of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Iowa on November 29 and November 30. The snow highlights some interesting features of the Western United States that might not otherwise be obvious in satellite imagery. Sandwiched between the straight diagonal line of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the west (the straight edge of the snow) and the Rocky Mountains in Central Utah in the east is the Great Basin Desert. This high desert basin covers a heart-shaped region of southern Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and southern Idaho and is clearly outlined in snow. Hemmed between two large mountain ranges that trap moisture from the east and the west, it is the United States' largest desert. It receives on average 7-12 inches of precipitation every year. The water that does fall in the region drains to interior, closed basins instead of the ocean, giving the region its name. The Great Basin Desert is made up of a series of mostly north-south running mountain ranges and valleys that give the land a wrinkled, wash-board appearance, particularly in Nevada. The snow highlights elevation change elsewhere in the image. The imposing Rocky Mountains appear slightly darker than the valleys around them, and the peaks and high plateaus in the south are covered in snow while the pink desert lowlands remain bare. On the right edge of the image, the flat plains of eastern Wyoming and Colorado are an even, uninterrupted white. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Land Processes DAAC |
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Fires in the Northern Rockie
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| Title |
Fires in the Northern Rockies |
| Description |
Dozens of large fires were burning across the Rocky Mountains in Canada (top), Montana (bottom right), and Idaho (bottom center) on August 14, 2003. This image shows smoke plumes trailing from the fires, which were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite and are marked with red dots in the image. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Fires in the Northern Rockie
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| Title |
Fires in the Northern Rockies |
| Description |
Fires across the Northern Rockies continued to burn on August 21, 2003. This image of the dozens of large fires (marked in yellow) was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite. The lake in the top left quadrant of the image is Flathead Lake in northwest Montana. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Fires in the Northern Rockie
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Fires in the Northern Rockies |
| Description |
More than 20 large fires are burning in the Northern Rockies region of Montana and Idaho as of September 4, 2003. Nearly half a million acres in the U.S. have been affected by the fires, which are marked in red in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Terra satellite on September 2. Additional fires have been burning for weeks in the Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, to the north. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Fires in the Northern Rockie
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| Title |
Fires in the Northern Rockies |
| Description |
More than 20 large fires are burning in the Northern Rockies region of Montana and Idaho as of September 4, 2003. Nearly half a million acres in the U.S. have been affected by the fires, which are marked in red in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Terra satellite on September 2. Additional fires have been burning for weeks in the Rockies in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, to the north. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Fires in the Northern Rockie
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Fires in the Northern Rockies |
| Description |
On September 6, 2003, dozens of large fires were burning in the northern Rockies of British Columbia (top), Montana (bottom right), Idaho (bottom center), and Washington (bottom left). In Montana, a line of fires stretches southward from the U.S.-Canada border for 190 kilometers (118 miles), creating a wall of smoke that hangs over the Lewis Range Mountains east of Flathead Lake. This image of the fires (marked in red) was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on September 6. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Fires in the Northern Rockie
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| Title |
Fires in the Northern Rockies |
| Description |
In the Northern Rockies in mid-August 2005, more than a dozen fires were burning across Washington, Idaho, and Montana. This image of the tinder-dry, flammable region was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on August 15. Locations where MODIS detected active fires are marked in red. Among the large fires are the School Fire [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13040 ] in Washington, the Blackberry and China Ten Fires in Idaho, and the I-80 and Rockin Fires in Montana. For information on the threats these fires pose to residences, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources, read the daily situation report [ http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf ] for August 16, published by the National Interagency Fire Center. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1/2005227/ ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in the Northern Rockie
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| Title |
Fires in the Northern Rockies |
| Description |
As September approached, fires continued to burn in the Bitterroot Mountains along the border of Idaho and Montana, as well as in other National Forests in the two states. When this image of the area was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite on August 29, 2005, numerous large fires were billowing smoke to the north and east. A line of clouds along the left edge of the image could be an indication of an approaching weather system, which was forecasted to bring some cool weather to the Northern Rockies. Active fire locations that MODIS detected are outlined in red. For more information about the fires in the Northern Rockies, read the daily situation report [ http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf ] from the National Interagency Fire Center. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_Rimrock/2005241/ ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Fires in the Northern Rockie
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| Title |
Fires in the Northern Rockies |
| Description |
In the northern Rockies, the Bitterroot Range Mountains along the border of Idaho and Montana were experiencing severe drought in late August. Fires were burning when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite passed over the region and captured this image on August 27, 2005. The image centers on Idaho County, where MODIS detected numerous "hot spots," which are outlined in red. The smokiest of the blazes is the Frank Church Fire. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1/2005239/ ] NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ]Goddard Space Flight Center |
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