August 4, 2013 - Smoke and fires in central Canada

Smoke and fires in central Canada

On July 25, 2013 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite flew over central Canada and captured this true-color image of fires burning across the region.

The image is centered on the Northwestern Territories, where fires burn primarily in boreal forest. An intense cluster of red hotspots, which indicate actively burning fire, can be seen west of Great Slave Lake. In the upper right section of the image a broad band of gray smoke can be seen arching to the north, then northwest. Hundreds of fires have been burning across Canada since June.

As of July 31, the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System reported that 31 uncontrolled fires, 126 controlled fires and 357 modified response fires were actively burning in Canada. There were 214 new fires that week, burning 125,429 ha. The number of fires is below the 10-year average for this time of year, as in the weekly area burned. However, the seasonal area burned to date is nearly double the 10-year average.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 7/25/2013
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC