April 30, 2012 - Fires and smoke in Central America

Fires and smoke in Central America

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of fires and smoke occurring in various areas of Central America on April 26, 2012 at 1915 UTC (3:15 p.m. EDT). The fires are marked by red dots and smoke from the fires appears a light brown in color.

Some of the fires are located north of Salina Cruz and Juchitan de Zaragoza along the southern Mexico coastline and smoke from them is blowing south into the Pacific Ocean in this satellite image. To the east, some fires are seen in northwestern Guatemala, burning in the Biotopo Protegido Laguna del Tigre Rio Escondido and the Parque Nacional Laguna Del Tigre. In Belize, fires also appear to be burning in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, located of the Maya Mountains in the Cayo District of south-central Belize.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 4/26/2012
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC