WASHINGTON(RushPRnews)11/18/08— Images from NASA satellites give a wider perspective of the full extent and devastation of the wildfires raging in Southern California. A pair of images from NASA’s Aqua satellite show the Los Angeles metropolitan area on Nov. 16, 2008. The top image posted on NASA’s Web site shows the Southern California area as a vast plume of smoke billows out over the Pacific Ocean.
The bottom image provides a closer view of the area around Los Angeles and two large fires burning there: the Freeway Complex Fire and the Sayre Fire. The Freeway Complex Fire has burned nearly 24,000 acres in Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties.
Fanned by high winds, blazes stretching from Santa Barbara to Anaheim, Calif., have scorched an estimated 35,000 acres, according to news reports.
To view and download the images and for additional information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/usa/cal_fires_2008_1117.htmlFires in California
Gusty winds drove wildfires into southern California cities in mid-November 2008. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite shows the Los Angeles metropolitan area on November 16, 2008. Places where the sensor detected active fires are outlined in red. The top image shows smoke spreading far to the west over the Pacific Ocean. According to the National Interagency Fire Center daily situation report from November 16, the Sayre Fire north of San Fernando was 8,000 acres and 20 percent contained. The Freeway Fire was 5,800 acres and 5 percent contained.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey
Stephen Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov