The Rodeo Fire (easternmost red outline) in east-central Arizona is burning within the Fort Apache Indian Reservation about 100 miles east-northeast of Phoenix. On Wednesday, the fire spread 9,000 acres in just 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 have been evacuated, and a major power line had to be shut down as the fire approached. The fire began on Tuesday, June 18, from human causes.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, June 20, a second human-caused fire started just west of the Rodeo Fire and quickly spread to 7,000 acres as of Friday. The Chediski Fire (westernmost red outline) is 0 percent contained and has forced evacuations of two communities.

This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite was acquired on June 20, 2002.

Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of the scene at the sensor's fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapid Response Image Gallery.

Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC