October 25, 2007 - Southern California Fires

Southern California Fires

This image of the fires burning in Southern California was captured at 11:25 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on October 23, 2007 by the MODIS on the Terra satellite. The fires are marked in red and have large plumes of gray smoke rising from them.

Strong Santa Ana winds pushed the smoke westward over the Pacific. The fires are strung along the mountains from locations near Santa Clarita to Tijuana. According to news reports from the morning of October 24, nearly a million people had evacuated their homes as fires spread from the mountains and hills toward cities and towns near the coast.

The MODIS on the Aqua satellite got another view of the area at 2:40pm. You can see it here.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 10/23/2007
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC