Suggested Searches

1 min read

Aspen and Helen 2 Fires, Tucson, Arizona

Topics:
Aspen and Helen 2 Fires, Tucson, Arizona

large images:
  10:55 AM (1 MB JPEG)
  2:05 PM (1 MB JPEG)

Twenty miles north of Tucson, Arizona, the Aspen Fire is raging through the Coronado National Forest. According to news reports, thousands of acres have been burned, including an unknown number of homes and businesses in a resort community on Mount Lemmon. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from the area as fire fighters struggle to contain the blaze in difficult terrain under hot, dry, windy conditions.

In these Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images from the Terra (top) and Aqua (bottom) satellites on June 19, 2003, several fires have been detected across the Southwest and are marked with red polygons. The Aspen Fire, south of center, has the largest smoke plume of all the fires. The grayish patch to the southwest of that fire is the city of Tucson.

References & Resources

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

None

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.

Fires on the Rise in the Far North
3 min read

Satellite-based maps show northern wildland fires becoming more frequent and widespread as temperatures rise and lightning reaches higher latitudes.

Article
B.C. Wildfires Send Smoke Skyward
2 min read

Lightning likely ignited several large fires that sent smoke pouring over the Canadian province in early September 2025.

Article
Fires Erupt in South-Central Chile 
2 min read

Tens of thousands of people fled to safety as blazes spread throughout the country’s Biobío and Ñuble regions.

Article