NASA MODIS Image of the Day: April 14, 2011 – Fires and burn scars in northern Mexico
Two large and smoky wildfires have burned over 245,000 acres in northern Mexico’s state of Coahuila since lighting sparked dry vegetation on March 16, 2011.
The fires, called El Bonito and La Sabina, are among the largest in Mexico’s history, according to news reports.
On April 4, The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard the Aqua satellite captured this set of images of burn scars and fire activity in the region. The front image is false-color, which includes reflected infrared light, which is not in the visible spectrum. Newly burned land appears brick red, while bare earth appears tan and vegetation is bright green. Smoke plumes show as a light blue-gray haze. Rolling the cursor over the image shows a photo-like true color image. Smoke is more dramatically highlighted in this view as it rises from the red hotspots and billows across the landscape. In contrast the burn scars blend into the landscape, appearing only slightly darker than the vegetation. The fires are burning in remote grass and shrub land, in ecosystems that are adapted to fire, according to CONAFOR, Mexico’s National Forest Service. A lack of rain and frost this winter left the plants dry and vulnerable to fire. Also, the area has not burned for more than 20 years, during which time flammable materials built up. Thunderstorms, strong winds and steep, inaccessible terrain have fueled the fires and made them extremely hard to control.
