Bushfires Raging in Southeast Australia

Bushfires Raging in Southeast Australia

This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Aqua satellite shows multiple large bushfires in southeast Australia on January 12, 2003. Fires are marked with red. This concentration of fires is located in the Great Dividing Range Mountains at the border of New South Wales (north) and Victoria (south). The northernmost fires are burning in the Kosciuszko National Park in southern New South Wales. Gusty winds and high temperatures have hampered containment efforts, and the smoke is beginning to pose a health hazard. Across the Bass Strait, a large fire is burning on Flinders Island.

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