September 11, 2020 - Fires in the Western United States

    Follow @NASA_MODIS

   West Coast Fires
    Tweet
    Share

   A massive cloud of smoke, which covered an area over four times the
   area of California, rose from many dozens of fires across the West
   Coast of the United States and blanketed not only the coast, but much
   of the Pacific Ocean. According to measurements taken from the NASA
   Worldview App, the smoke covered roughly 700,000 square miles
   (1,812,992 square km) on September 10, 2020, when the Moderate
   Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua
   satellite acquired this true-color image of the scene. The image
   contains data from collected during two passes of the satellite – the
   cloud was too large to capture on a single pass.

   Scorching summer temperatures, extremely dry air, and strong winds have
   combined to create a vicious fire season along the West Coast of the
   United States. In mid-August, a series of lightning strikes sparked
   dozens of fires in tinder-dry vegetation across California, starting
   significant infernos. In the same time frame, lightning-sparked fires
   also sprung up in Washington, Oregon, and other Western states. By the
   end of the first week of September, a weather front that drew
   unseasonably cold air into the Rocky Mountains also set up an
   atmospheric pressure gradient that sent dry, gusty winds barreling down
   the downwind slopes of mountain ranges in several western states,
   fanning the flames and creating a truly massive cloud of smoke that has
   turned skies red, dropped ash on cars and buildings, and created
   respiratory hazards for those living in the region.

   According to Cal Fire, since the beginning of the year, wildfires have
   now burned over 3.1 million acres in California, with 12 fatalities and
   over 3,900 structures destroyed. This has been a record-breaking year,
   both in the amount of acres burned and in the fact that 6 of the top 20
   largest wildfires in California’s history have occurred this year: #1
   is the August Complex, #3 SCU Lightning Complex, #4 LNU Lightning
   Complex, #9 the Elkhorn Fire, #10 the North Complex, and the Creek Fire
   comes in at #17. The August Complex had burned 746,607 acres as of
   September 10 and was only 20% contained.

   The blazes in Washington and Oregon, which have roared to a dramatic
   expansion over the last several days, thanks to ferocious winds, are
   also setting records. Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington, was reported
   to have said that more acres were burned in the state on Monday
   (September 7) than were charred in the past 12 fire seasons. In Oregon,
   Governor Kate Brown reported that the blazes had consumed more than
   900,000 acres by September 10, and that the worst fire conditions in
   three decades persist. While most of the blazes appear to have been
   from natural causes, it has been reported that arson is suspected in
   Oregon’s Alameda fire, which has heavily damaged least two towns.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Terra
   Date Acquired: 9/10/2020
   Resolutions:  1km (1 MB),  500m (3.3 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=2020-09-11
 
