A state of emergency has been declared on the island of Chios due to the fire that broke out early in the morning hours of Monday, July 25, 2016. Dozens of firefighters and equipment were dispatched to fight the fire which quickly spread due to high temperatures, dry conditions, and high winds. The fire is threatening olive groves and mastic trees which are both sources of income for the small island. Smoke has forced some evacuations, but no official evacuations are in place at this time.
The second fire that has been discovered near the Karistos area of Greece has not been reported as yet. It is possible that the fire is too new for the current news cycle. The satellite only detects that the area within the red has been measured and has a higher temperature than that of the background area. The smoke, however, is indicative for fire. It could be wildfire, but it could be a different type of fire.
This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument board the Aqua satellite on July 25, 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