NASA MODIS Image of the Day: January 19, 2012 – Fires in Gascoyne region of Western Australia
On December 28, 2011, a lightning strike into dry grassland started bushfires in Western Australia’s Mid Wes and Gascoyne regions.
Strong winds and soaring temperatures fanned the blazes, and have kept them burning for nearly three weeks.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on January 16, 2011. The fires were unpredictable form the start, but by January 9, flames had been reported leaping up to 15 meters high, with spot fires starting up to two kilometers ahead of the blaze. At that time, the blaze was 90 kilometers north-east of Carnavon, and had burned an estimated 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres). Tropical Storm Heidi made landfall near Port Hedland, which is well north of the fire-affected land, on January 11, bringing rain across the region and helping slow the fires. Despite both rain and constant fire-fighting, the bushfires remained burning. On January 19, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA) reported that fire activity has continued and is still not controlled after burning more than 406,000 hectares (1,003,427 acres). An alert has been issued for people and properties within and adjoining the North West Coastal Highway, west of Kennedy Range National Park and south of Minilya roadhouse in the Shire of Carnarvon.
