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October 2, 2020 - Mullen Fire
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The Mullen Fire sparked to life on September 17, 2020, in the Medicine Bow National Forest, southwest of Centennial, Wyoming. It is one of only two major fires burning in Wyoming at the close of the month of September.
The fire was initially reported in the Savage Run Wilderness, an area with a large amount of beetle-killed deadfall, dense vegetation, and rugged terrain. As of October 1, the fire has consumed 117,420 acres of timber and understory. With 934 personnel working the fire, full containment is expected to be October 30. According to Inciweb, critical fire weather and strong winds have increased the size of the fire, which remains actively burning. Local media reports that the Mullen Fire took a strong run south and crossed the border with Colorado on October 1.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the Mullen Fire on September 30.
Each red “hot spot” marks an area where the thermal bands on the instrument detected high temperatures. When combined with typical smoke, such hot spots are diagnostic for actively burning fire. The linear arrangement of hot spots sits near the southern border of the fire and suggests that the fire continues to move in that direction. The smoke blows east then curls northeast in the prevailing wind. Additional smaller fires can be seen in the forests just to the southeast of the Mullen Fire. The larger fire seen in Colorado, which is billowing copious smoke, is the Cameron Forks Fire.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/30/2020
Resolutions:
1km (178 KB), 500m (674.8 KB), 250m (2.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
The Mullen Fire sparked to life on September 17, 2020, in the Medicine Bow National Forest, southwest of Centennial, Wyoming. It is one of only two major fires burning in Wyoming at the close of the month of September.
The fire was initially reported in the Savage Run Wilderness, an area with a large amount of beetle-killed deadfall, dense vegetation, and rugged terrain. As of October 1, the fire has consumed 117,420 acres of timber and understory. With 934 personnel working the fire, full containment is expected to be October 30. According to Inciweb, critical fire weather and strong winds have increased the size of the fire, which remains actively burning. Local media reports that the Mullen Fire took a strong run south and crossed the border with Colorado on October 1.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the Mullen Fire on September 30.
Each red “hot spot” marks an area where the thermal bands on the instrument detected high temperatures. When combined with typical smoke, such hot spots are diagnostic for actively burning fire. The linear arrangement of hot spots sits near the southern border of the fire and suggests that the fire continues to move in that direction. The smoke blows east then curls northeast in the prevailing wind. Additional smaller fires can be seen in the forests just to the southeast of the Mullen Fire. The larger fire seen in Colorado, which is billowing copious smoke, is the Cameron Forks Fire.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/30/2020
Resolutions:
1km (178 KB), 500m (674.8 KB), 250m (2.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
