Envirocast® On-Line Feature of the Week -- September 27, 2006

Wildfires Near Los Angeles 

The images in this Envirocast® On-Line were taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellite on September 25 and 26th, 2006. They show the Day Fire near Los Angeles in southern California.

Day Fire Near Los Angeles

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellite took the above images of wildfires near Los Angeles on September 25th and 26th, 2006. Locations where MODIS detected active fire are outlined in red.

 

In the false-color image, combination of infrared bands from MODIS have been added to the image to make burn scars (deep red) stand out better from vegetation (bright green), naturally bare or thinly vegetated ground (pale pink or tan) and smoke (light blue).

 

Close-up View

Day Fire on September 26th, 2006

 

Day Fire on September 25th, 2006

 

In the false-color image on September 26th, 2006, combination of infrared bands from MODIS have been added to the image to make burn scars (deep red) stand out better from vegetation (bright green), naturally bare or thinly vegetated ground (pale pink or tan) and smoke (light blue).

Related Envirocast® On-Line:

September 20, 2006 - Wildfires in Southern California

Environmental Impacts:

  • The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellite took above image of wildfires near Los Angeles on September 25th and 26th, 2006.

     

  • The Day Fire has burned 144,884 acres and is 42% contained.  It has destroyed 6 structures so far and 3,801 fire personnel are currently fighting the blaze. The burned area is about the size of city of Chicago.

  • The fire jumped Lockwood Valley Road and now Lockwood Valley, CA is being evacuated.

     

  • There are 74 large fires (greater than 500 acres) active today with California, Washington, Montana, and Minnesota being the states that are most affected.

     

  • To date this year there have been 83,240 fires that have burned 9,026,770 acres and destroyed 1,890 structures.

  • Smoke, once in the air, can hang around for a while.  Large soot particles and ambers fall from the sky quickly.  Smaller particles, the kind that can go deeper into lungs and breathing passageways, can stay suspended for a longer time. People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid all physical activity outdoors. Everyone else should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion.

EPA United States Air Quality Maps

Supplementary Material:

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.

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