As of August 8, 2006, the National Interagency Fire Center estimated that the Tripod Complex Fire had grown to 68,312 acres. Firefighters had the blaze about 10 percent contained. This image of the area was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 7, and places where the sensor detected actively burning fire are outlined in red. Numerous spots were burning in the complex, and strong winds spread a thick river of smoke toward the northeast. On the southwest side of Lake Chelan, the smaller Tin Pan Fire was estimated to be 4,095 acres. The Tin Pan Fire is a “Wildland Fire Use” fire, which means it is a naturally ignited fire that firefighters allow to burn according to a pre-determined natural resource management plan.
This image is shown at MODIS’ maximum spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The large image shows a wider area of the Pacific Northwest. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides twice-daily images of the area at additional resolutions.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center
