In wilderness areas of central Idaho’s Salmon River, Bitterroot, and Sawtooth Mountain Ranges, numerous fires were burning in mid-August 2006. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite passed overhead on August 14, the sensor detected more than a dozen active fires (locations marked in red) burning in the area. Across the state line in Montana, several fires are visible as well. Although there are no large cities in the area, residences, ranches, communications and power infrastructure, historic and recreational sites, and mining resources are threatened by the various blazes. The remote location and rugged terrain make fires in the area difficult to contain. For more information about the fires in Idaho and the rest of the United States, visit the Website of the National Interagency Fire Center.
The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. 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
