The Rodeo Fire northeast of Phoenix, Arizona, is creating a large smoke plume that is clearly visible in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from June 20, 2002. On Wednesday, the fire spread 9,000 acres in three hours, and as of Friday morning had grown to 85,000 acres. Possibly a hundred structures have been destroyed, and thousands more are at risk. Three communities in the path of the blaze, which is burning on the Apache Indian Reservation, have been evacuated.
Image courtesy Liam Gumley, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
