Fire season has been unrelenting this year in the western states. This week is no exception as fires continue to break out and burn in California, Oregon, and Washington. The group of fires that appears towards the bottom of the image is comprised of a number of fires in California that were reported on August 6, 2015. California, one of the hardest hit states this year, logs 35 fires on Inciweb.org ranging in size from 0 (just reported) to 134,000 acres at the Happy Camp fire complex which started in June of 2014 but has since started up again this year due to lightning strikes. It is not expected to jump the fire scar footprint it created last year. Washington state lists 15 fires or fire complexes on Inciweb currently active in the state ranging from 103 acres to over 33,000 acres. Oregon lists twelve fires or fire complexes on Inciweb.org ranging in size from 209 acres to over 22,000 acres. Each fire complex listed could be a group of fires within the complex so the number of fires in each state could be significantly higher than reported.
This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite on August 09, 2015. 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