Suggested Searches

1 min read

Fires in Northern California

Instruments:
Topics:
2006-09-26 00:00:00
September 26, 2006

When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over northern California on September 26, 2006, it detected active fire locations at the Bar Complex Fire (red outlines), but the smoke from the Uncles Complex Fire appeared to be hiding any “hotspots” in that fire from the sensor’s view. The two fires burned throughout September 2006. According to the September 28 report from the National Interagency Fire Center, the Bar Complex Fire was 88,896 acres and 33 percent contained, while the Uncles Complex Fire was 25,285 acres and 50 percent contained.

The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily images of the area in a variety of resolutions and formats.

References & Resources

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center.

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.

Sprawling Gifford Fire Scorches California
3 min read

The fast-growing blaze charred more than 100,000 acres in the span of a week.

Article
Monroe Canyon Fire Intensifies
3 min read

The blaze in central Utah experienced rapid growth during dry, windy days in late July 2025, creating hazy skies throughout…

Article
Seeing the Monroe Canyon Fire in a New Light
5 min read

As wildland fires raged in the American West, NASA airborne technology was there to image it in incredible detail.

Article