***note: all figures in this table are still considered preliminary  

Active fire history for southern California

October 22 - October 30, 2003

This information from the USDA Forest Service’s Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) summarizes all too clearly the extent of southern California burned areas since January 1, 2003. The images show the Southern California fire activity between October 22 and October 30, 2003.

For all the Active Fire maps, click on our November 21, 2003 Envirocast Media Release.

Environmental Impacts:

• In late October 2003, major fires erupted across southern California. Preliminary estimates, which are numbing, indicate that twenty-two people (including one firefighter) perished, hundreds were injured and nearly 5000 structures and scores of vehicles succumbed to the blazes. It took more than 15 thousand firefighting personnel, an unprecedented number, to extinguish these fires. More than 650,000 acres were scarred.

• The last of the six major southern California fires were contained on November 8, 2003 (two weeks ago this coming Sunday).  There were a total of fourteen significant blazes that occurred between October 21 and November 2, 2003.

• Now that the fires are over, State, Federal and local agencies are regrouping and providing support to those displaced by the blazes. As of November 17, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had already distributed $40 million is assistance including actual payments for temporary housing, relocation and storage; rebuilding; and firefighter resources; as well as extensive small business, residential and renter loans. And the phones are still ringing, with more than 23,000 calls for information and guidance in applying for loans and more than 15,000 people actually registering for assistance. FEMA officials were quick to note that this already staggering price tag does not include individual losses covered by private insurance and assistance that will be provided to rebuild public infrastructures (roads, bridges and buildings). Actual costs of fighting the fires (more than $100 million – see table above) are also not included.  One individual at FEMA’s Joint Information Center in Pasadena indicated that total losses would likely zoom when all facets of the fires are considered.

• While there have been some major forest fires this year, the loss of forests to fire was comparable to the average for the period 1995 – 2002. Through November 18, 2003 , 3,837,102 acres burned, slightly above the 3,815,952 lost on average in the past 8 years. The number of fires was substantially lower (57,890 vs 81,805), indicating the fires that did occur, on average, were more destructive. This clearly sets the stage for more large fires in the months and years to come.

Supplementary Material:

NASA's MODIS sensor:

• MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a key instrument aboard the Terra (EOS AM) and Aqua (EOS PM) satellites.

• Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths. These data will improve our understanding of global dynamics and processes occurring on the land, in the oceans, and in the lower atmosphere.

• MODIS is playing a vital role in the development of validated, global, interactive Earth system models able to predict global change accurately enough to assist policy makers in making sound decisions concerning the protection of our environment.

• There is a 6-minute QuickTime Movie describing MODIS and its mission:

hi-resolution version (34 MB), faster-downloading version (3.5 MB)

NASA's TERRA Satellite:

• The Terra spacecraft (formally known as EOS-AM) was successfully launched on Saturday, December 19, 1999 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Lompoc, California. It is flying at an altitude of 705 km (438 miles) observing the Earth. The life expectancy of the Terra mission is 6 years. It will be followed in later years by other EOS spacecraft that take advantage of new developments in remote sensing technologies. [Terra 3D Animation], [Animation showing Terra Orbit]

• Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, and thus it passes over us at the same local time every day, approximately 10:30-10:45 a.m.

NASA's AQUA Satellite:

• Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth Science satellite mission collecting about the Earth's water cycle, including evaporation from the oceans, water vapor in the atmosphere, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, sea ice, land ice, and snow cover on the land and ice. The Aqua spacecraft (formally known as EOS-PM) was successfully launched on May 4, 2002 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Lompoc, California. t is flying at an altitude of 705 km (438 miles) observing the Earth, and the life expectancy is 6 years. [Aqua's Orbit], [Animation of MODIS Observing the Earth]

• Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon, and thus it passes over us at the same local time every day, approximately 1:30 p.m.