In the plains south of Topeka, Kansas, on April 9, 2006, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite detected numerous fires burning. The larger image shows fires to the south in Oklahoma, as well. Marked in red in this photo-like satellite image, many of the fires are associated with dark-colored burn scars. MODIS cannot tell the cause of the fires it detects, but this area supports numerous ranches and farms and it is possible that the fires are for brush or pasture clearing. Many parts of the Great Plains and the Southern Plains have experienced significant early-season fire activity this year, however, so some of the fires may be natural or accidental wildfires.
The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center
