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Forest Fires in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize

Fires in the Yucatan
Fires were spotted in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.

These fires seem to be a combination of forest fires and agricultural fires. At this time of year farmers are processing their fields for the new growing season by setting fires to get rid of leftover plant materials. Also this time of year forest fires are more likely to crop up with the advent of rising temperatures and drier weather. It is difficult to make distinctions between these two types of fires within this satellite image, however forest fires have been reported in the area. This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on April 01, 2016. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner