Fires in Victoria, Australia

Fires in Victoria, Australia

According to reports from the park’s Website, a bushfire in Grampians National Park in western Victoria, Australia, had grown to more than 122,770 hectares (1,227.7 square kilometers, or about 303,000 acres) as of January 25, 2005. All access roads to the park have been closed to the public as firefighters battle the blaze. With several large fires burning in other locations throughout the state, the government had declared a statewide total fire ban.

This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite shows the massive blaze on January 25. The actively burning parts of the fire that MODIS detected are outlined in red. The thick smoke hides the ground from view and spreads far to the west over the neighboring state, South Australia. The MODIS Rapid Response Team at Goddard Space Flight Center provides daily images of the area.

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