September 4, 2020 - West Coast Fires

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   West Coast Fires
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   Fire season in the West can stretch from late spring until seasonal
   winter rains and snow arrive. Hot, dry weather combined with high
   numbers of lightning strikes sparked hundreds of fires in California
   since mid-August 2020.

   The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
   NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the intensely
   smoky scene on September 2. The large cluster of red hot spots mark
   actively burning fires, most of which are part of the August Complex
   fires, a group of 37 fires that were ignited by lightning on August 17.
   With some fires contained and a few new ones added, the August Complex
   has consumed 287,106 acres by September 3 and is 23 percent contained.
   Ash-brown smoke pours from the complex and has been blown hundreds of
   miles over the Pacific Ocean and appears to be higher than the marine
   stratocumulus cloud layer.

   According to Cal Fire, on September 3 over 12,800 firefighters were
   working to contain 22 major fires and lightning complexes in the state.
   With more than 12,400 people evacuated across the state, fire fighters
   are watching the weather. Extreme heat and gusty winds bring a Fire
   Weather Watch for the weekend (September 3 – 6) for parts of the state.

   Cal Fire reports that since the lightning siege that started on
   Saturday, August 15, 2020, there have been nearly 14,000 lightning
   strikes. During this time-period, there have been more than 900 new
   wildfires, which have now burned over 1.5 million acres. There have 8
   fatalities and over 3,200 structures destroyed.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Terra
   Date Acquired: 9/2/2020
   Resolutions:  1km (416.2 KB),  500m (1.4 MB),  250m (4.8 MB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2020-09-04
 
