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Prescribed Fires in U.S. Pop Up Ahead of Fire Season

Prescribed fires in mid and eastern U.S.
Prescribed fires dot the landscape in this Suomi NPP satellite image of the mid and eastern U.S. on March 28, 2019.

Smokey the Bear would tell loyal fans, “only you can prevent forest fires,” and it looks like many forestry services are heeding that golden rule by setting prescribed fires ahead of the coming fire season. Fire season in the United States comes when the temperature rises, the humidity drops, and severe storms produce lightning and high winds. With those three ingredients in play massive forest fires can break out and spread quickly. Sometimes so quickly that residents are hard pressed to get out of their homes before the fire reaches them. In order to prevent this scenario or at least lessen the chances for it, forest managers will light prescribed burns in areas that are prone to fire outbreaks.

Inciweb (a fire tracking site) reports that many of the fires in this March 28, 2019 Suomi NPP satellite image are prescribed fires. Prescribed fires are fires that are deliberately set by fire officials for a whole host of reasons. There are ecosystems that actually require fires for further growth. After many years of fire exclusion, an ecosystem that needs periodic fire becomes unhealthy. Trees become stressed by overcrowding; fire-dependent species disappear; and flammable fuels build up and become hazardous. The right fire at the right place at the right time can:

  • Reduce hazardous fuels, protecting human communities from extreme fires;
  • Minimize the spread of pest insects and disease;
  • Remove unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem;
  • Provide forage for game;
  • Improve habitat for threatened and endangered species;
  • Recycle nutrients back to the soil; and
  • Promote the growth of trees, wildflowers, and other plants;

Both fires set deliberately and even some wildfires left to burn out naturally benefit natural resources and reduce the risk of unwanted wildfires in the future. Fire officials also use hand tools and machines to thin overgrown sites in preparation for the eventual return of fire.

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.” Actively burning fires, detected by thermal bands, are shown as red points. Image Courtesy: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Caption: Lynn Jenner