Images
August 19, 2016 - Fires on Madeira
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Fires scorched Madeira Island in early August 2016, destroying more than 150 homes, killing three people, and forcing more than 1,000 people to evacuate. A summer heat wave and strong wind helped drive the fire spread, but authorities think that some may have been set by arsonists.
NASA satellites began to detect large numbers of fire on Madeira Island, Portugal on August 8. In the following days the fires spread rapidly and the amount of smoke increased dramatically. By August 12 the fires were mostly extinguished but they left large expanses of charred forest behind.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on August 11, 2016. A large red area in the southwest part of the island marks the heat signature of the fires detected by the thermal bands on the MODIS instrument. Gray smoke pours from the fires and pours first to the south then blows to the southwest.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/11/2016
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m (96.5 KB), 250m (236.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Fires scorched Madeira Island in early August 2016, destroying more than 150 homes, killing three people, and forcing more than 1,000 people to evacuate. A summer heat wave and strong wind helped drive the fire spread, but authorities think that some may have been set by arsonists.
NASA satellites began to detect large numbers of fire on Madeira Island, Portugal on August 8. In the following days the fires spread rapidly and the amount of smoke increased dramatically. By August 12 the fires were mostly extinguished but they left large expanses of charred forest behind.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on August 11, 2016. A large red area in the southwest part of the island marks the heat signature of the fires detected by the thermal bands on the MODIS instrument. Gray smoke pours from the fires and pours first to the south then blows to the southwest.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/11/2016
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m (96.5 KB), 250m (236.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
