Fire danger in many Western states ranges from high to extreme, and numerouswildfires have resulted from lightning strikes and human carelessness. This Moderate Resolution ImagingSpectroradiometer (MODIS) image from June 9, 2002, shows (clockwise from topleft) Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Large fires detected by MODIS are(clockwise from left) the Big Wash and Sanford Fires in Utah; Long Canyon, CoalSeam, and Hayman, in Colorado; and the Ponil and Cherry Fires in New Mexico. Thelower image shows a detail of the Hayman Fire in Colorado.
In Colorado, the Hayman Fire is about 40 miles southwest of Denver, and wascaused by an illegal campfire in Park County, according to reports from the USDAForest Service. Smoke and soot are reaching Denver. Roads have been closed andseveral communities have been evacuated as the fire, which began on Saturday,June 8, grew to almost 20,000 acres by Monday. Also in Colorado, extreme firebehavior has brought the Coal Seam fire to the city of Glenwood Springs, andmore than 20 residences have already been lost, with several hundred morethreatened. The fire is likely to have started from a coal seam that has beenburning underground since the 70s. The western and southern portions of the townhave been evacuated.
To the south, the Ponil Fire in northern New Mexico has continued to grow sinceit began as the result of lightning on June 2, and was 85,000 acres by Mondaymorning. Through the smoke a large burn scar is visible. (A second burn scarstraddles the Colorado-New Mexico border. This scar is from a previous firecalled the Trinidad Complex.) Numerous historic structures as well as the townof Ute Park are threatened by the blaze. The Cherry Fire is burning in theMalpaís National Monument—the Badlands. Among the structures threatened is anadobe house designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. On the western (left)edge of the image are two fires burning in Utah, the 5,000 acre Sanford Fire and the1,800 acre Big Wash fires. These two fires caused road and trail closers in and aroundBryce and Zion National Parks.
Reports from the National Interagency Fire Center on these and other fires readlike a script: “Steep, rugged terrain, high winds, dry fuels, and limitedaccessibility are hampering containment efforts.” This promises to be an activeseason for firefighters across the western United States.
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Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
