Firefighters are battling a huge wildfire in a nature reserve on the island of Evia in Greece. Both Italy and Spain have sent reinforcement water planes to help quell the blaze. The fire broke out early Tuesday morning, August 13, 2019, ravaging a large pine forest. Residents in the area have been evacuated. This fire is the larger fire on the right in this image. Both winds and difficult terrain have hampered firefighting efforts. In fact, the winds pushed the resulting smoke to Athens, the capital of Greece, some 70 miles (110 km) away. The blaze has caused substantial damage to the mountain wildlife sanctuary of Agrilitsa. Winds have calmed down as of today (Aug. 15), but the difficult terrain continues to make firefighting efforts a challenge. Fires are common in the summer in Greece due to warm conditions, low humidity, and dry conditions. Residents are warned to curtail outdoor activities that could cause a fire. Causing a wildfire is a criminal offense in Greece. The other fire in the image (left) is burning near Thebes, Greece, and is burning through brush and dried weeds.
NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview application provides the capability to interactively browse over 700 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the underlying data. Many of the available imagery layers are updated within three hours of observation, essentially showing the entire Earth as it looks “right now.” This satellite image was collected on August 13, 2019, by NOAA/NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument. Suomi NPP is managed by NASA and NOAA. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. Image Courtesy: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Caption: Lynn Jenner