Three wildfires were captured in this image taken by the Suomi NPP satellite on September 18, 2016. These are by no means the only fires in the state of California.
The first of the three fires seen in the image is the Soberanes Fire on the west coast near Monterey which has been active since July 22, 2016. The current size of the fire is 113,259 acres and the containment has grown to 61% as 1,921 personnel continue to fight the Soberanes Fire. There are now 45 crews, 118 engines, 11 helicopters, 15 dozers and 11 water tenders. Burnout operations are in effect with this fire as they try to control the spread. Firefighters strategically put fire on the indirect line to prepare the area for any future fire activity. Smoke will be heavy in all areas near Carmel Valley, because of the wind directions.
The second fire is the Canyon Fire, also on the west coast, and located near Vandenberg Air Force Base. This fire began on September 17th has already grown to 4,528 acres in size. Over the weekend, the Canyon fire forced officials to postpone the launch of an Atlas V rocket. The fire is not contained at present and its cause is under investigation.
The third fire in this image is the Owens River Fire which is also began this past weekend on September 17, 2016. It has already grown to 6,000 acres. The fire is near Clark Canyon which is a popular climbing area. The fire is though to have been human caused and further investigations are continuing into its origin. The fire is only 20% contained at present.
The Suomi NPP satellite satellite collected this natural-color image using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument on September 18, 2016. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from Inciweb.
Suomi NPP is managed by NASA and NOAA.