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June 9, 2026 - Burn Scar North of the Grand Canyon
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The Dragon Bravo Fire was a destructive megafire on the Kaibab Plateau within the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) and adjacent Kaibab National Forest Lands. The National Park Service (NPS) reported that fire ignited on July 4, 2025, and burned 149,399 acres, including 71,129 acres of GRCA-managed lands over three months. It also destroyed the century-old Grand Canyon lodge as it became the seventh-largest wildfire ever reported in Arizona and the largest wildfire in the United States in 2025.
On May 27, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this false-color image of the massive burn scar of the Dragon Bravo Fire.
In this type of image, vegetation is bright green, open land appears in tan tones, and clouds are white. Burn scars—areas damaged by a fire—may show in a wide range of color from nearly black, to brown, to brick red, depending on the soil, the completeness of the burn, and how long ago the fire tore through the region.
Here, more than six months after the Dragon Bravo Fire was put out, the burn scar still retains the light brick red appearance typical of recent fires. The vigorous, bright green growth of spring vegetation shows a stark contrast with the large burn scar.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 5/27/2026
Resolutions:
1km (75.8 KB), 500m (182.7 KB), 250m (197.9 KB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
The Dragon Bravo Fire was a destructive megafire on the Kaibab Plateau within the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) and adjacent Kaibab National Forest Lands. The National Park Service (NPS) reported that fire ignited on July 4, 2025, and burned 149,399 acres, including 71,129 acres of GRCA-managed lands over three months. It also destroyed the century-old Grand Canyon lodge as it became the seventh-largest wildfire ever reported in Arizona and the largest wildfire in the United States in 2025.
On May 27, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this false-color image of the massive burn scar of the Dragon Bravo Fire.
In this type of image, vegetation is bright green, open land appears in tan tones, and clouds are white. Burn scars—areas damaged by a fire—may show in a wide range of color from nearly black, to brown, to brick red, depending on the soil, the completeness of the burn, and how long ago the fire tore through the region.
Here, more than six months after the Dragon Bravo Fire was put out, the burn scar still retains the light brick red appearance typical of recent fires. The vigorous, bright green growth of spring vegetation shows a stark contrast with the large burn scar.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 5/27/2026
Resolutions:
1km (75.8 KB), 500m (182.7 KB), 250m (197.9 KB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
