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November 12, 2025 - Prescribed Burns in the Great Southern
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Heavy smoke filled the skies over southeastern Western Australia in early November 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of billowing smoke on November 11.
The dense gray plume rises from prescribed burns in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. On November 11, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services of Western Australia issued a smoke alert for a large area of the Great Southern and South West Region, according to media reports. At that time, a prescribed burn being managed by Parks and Wildlife Service near Walpole was pouring smoke over a large area stretching from Bremer Bay and Manjimup, including the towns of Albany, Mt. Barker, Denmark, and Walpole.
Prescribed burns are fires that are deliberately set and controlled in order to manage land. In this case, fire is being used to manage wildland with extremely thick understory that could be a volatile fuel to feed larger, more destructive wildfires in the future. This bushland has not been managed with fire in several decades, leaving it at risk of substantial and destructive wildfire, according to local reports. The area is also home to several wildlife species, including the endangered ring-tailed possum, raising concerns about damage to habitat in both the long- and short-term. Ecosystem health, including habitat preservation, is typically an important part of planning for prescribed burns.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 11/11/2025
Resolutions:
1km (174.2 KB), 500m (174.2 KB), 250m (199.3 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Heavy smoke filled the skies over southeastern Western Australia in early November 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of billowing smoke on November 11.
The dense gray plume rises from prescribed burns in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. On November 11, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services of Western Australia issued a smoke alert for a large area of the Great Southern and South West Region, according to media reports. At that time, a prescribed burn being managed by Parks and Wildlife Service near Walpole was pouring smoke over a large area stretching from Bremer Bay and Manjimup, including the towns of Albany, Mt. Barker, Denmark, and Walpole.
Prescribed burns are fires that are deliberately set and controlled in order to manage land. In this case, fire is being used to manage wildland with extremely thick understory that could be a volatile fuel to feed larger, more destructive wildfires in the future. This bushland has not been managed with fire in several decades, leaving it at risk of substantial and destructive wildfire, according to local reports. The area is also home to several wildlife species, including the endangered ring-tailed possum, raising concerns about damage to habitat in both the long- and short-term. Ecosystem health, including habitat preservation, is typically an important part of planning for prescribed burns.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 11/11/2025
Resolutions:
1km (174.2 KB), 500m (174.2 KB), 250m (199.3 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
