A human-caused fire in the Coast Range Mountains of northern California started on October 10, 2004, and had burned more than 34,000 acres as of October 13, according to information provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Website. Called the Rumsey Fire, the blaze is burning in rugged, inaccessible terrain, which cannot be reached by fire engines. Ground crews and aircraft are battling the blaze amid thick smoke and high winds.
This image of the Rumsey Fire was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on October 12, 2004. Actively burning portions of the fire that MODIS detected are marked in red. The plume of smoke that is hampering firefighters’ efforts can be seen drifting far out over the Pacific Ocean.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center
