The Missionary Ridge Fire, 10 miles north of Durango, Colorado, has been burning since June 9. By July 4, 2002 the fire had consumed almost 73,000 acres in the San Juan National Forest, and destroyed 56 homes. At that time the blaze was 55 percent contained, but still threatened several subdivisions. This Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image combines daytime and nighttime images acquired on June 30, 2002. The simulated natural color daytime image shows burned areas in dark blue and healthy vegetation in green. The red areas are active fires and hot areas captured during the nighttime data acquisition using ASTER’s thermal infrared channels. The right side of the image was only captured at night. The image covers an area of 40 x 38 km (25 x 24 miles).
More news about current wildfires in the United States is available from the National Fire Information Center.
Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
