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Wildfires Continue to Erupt in Chile

Fires in Chile
Wildfires have been plaguing Chile for several years.

Wildfires have been plaguing Chile for several years. In 2017, Chile saw a record number of wildfires due to very hot, very dry conditions. This year, Chile is once again seeing a spate of wildfires across the country. Dozens of wildfires were detected by the MODIS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite on March 21, 2018. The Global Forest Watch website, as of this date (note: the totals change on a daily basis) is recording 333 distinct fires in Chile. The Cautin province is seeing the largest number of fires with the Nuble province close behind. Chile has already seen 2,441 wildfires this year which is down from last year which had a record number of wildfires at 16,657.

NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite collected this natural-color image using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument. 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 the Global Forest Watch website.

Suomi NPP is managed by NASA and NOAA.