View from space: US west continues to burn

The images below are from NASA’s Aqua satellite, showing wildfires burning across the American west in September, 2012.

Wildfires have burned throughout the western United States for months. Major blazes first emerged in New Mexico in May, then began to turn up in Colorado and Idaho in large numbers. Most recently, fires have surged in California and Washington.

Fires in northern Idaho and Washington on September 17, 2012. Image NASA Earth Observatory via Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.

On September 17, 2012, when the Aqua satellite acquired the image above, numerous fires continued to rage. Some, like the Halstead and Mustang Complex fires in Idaho, have been burning for months. Others, like the Pole Creek and Sheep fires, were ignited in just the past few weeks.

Montana’s Dugan fire, shown here, on September 15, 2012. Image NASA Earth Observatory via Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.

Meanwhile, Montana’s Dugan fire (image above) was discovered in Custer National Forest as recently as September 14, 2012.

The 2012 wildfire season will likely break the United States record for the most acres burned, set in 2006 when more than 9.8 million acres burned. (The National Interagency Fire Center has been keeping records since 1960.) Fire had burned nearly 8.4 million acres (3.4 million hectares) across the United States as of September 18, 2012 — an area larger than the state of Maryland. Idaho, Oregon, and Montana were hardest hit. Idaho alone accounted for 18 percent of the land burned across the United States in 2012; Oregon accounted for 15 percent, and Montana 11 percent.

The size and frequency of wildfires has increased significantly in the western United States over the past few decades due largely to climate change and changing forestry practices. Climate change has decreased winter snow cover, hastened the arrival of spring, and intensified heat waves across much of the West—all factors that exacerbate wildfires. In addition, decades of aggressive fire suppression have left denser forests and abundant fuel on the ground, which makes fires more difficult to control.

Bottom line: A NASA Aqua satellite image shows still wildfires burning across the U.S. west in September, 2012. This wildfire season will likely break the U.S. record for most acres burned.

- EarthSky/NASA