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Fires in Idaho

The Powell Complex fire started on July 20, 2012 with multiple lightning strikes and has currently burned 67,000 acres in Idaho. The Powell SBW Complex consists of three main and numerous small fires situated in an arc running southeast to southwest of the town of Powell, Idaho, straddling the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness boundary. The fires are presently located entirely on the Nez Perce - Clearwater National Forests.

Approximately two inches of rain has fallen on the fire area since October 12 which has helped to quell the fires. Containment of the fire is expected by October 31, 2012.

This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on October 18, 2012. 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.org