Fires in Baja California

Fires in Baja California

One large and two smaller fires were detected near the US-Mexico border in the Mexican state of Baja California Norte on June 29, 2003. The largest fire is actually a group of four fires (see high-resolution image) burning in the foothills of the Sierra de Juarez mountains, about 20 miles southeast of Tecate. About 30 miles east of Ensenada, a shipping port on the Pacific, is one of the smaller fires. The other small fire is located about 30 miles south of Mexicali, one of the larger border towns scattered along the US-Mexico border. A large, grayish patch on the Pacific Coast at the border is San Diego (U.S.) and Tijuana (Mexico). The much larger gray patch farther up the coast is Los Angeles.

A large blanket of clouds stretches along the coast over the Pacific. Peeking through it are a few of the Channel Islands. Southernmost is San Clemente Island, with Santa Catalina Island to the north and Santa Barbara Island to the east. This true-color image was acquired by the Terra MODIS sensor.

The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters.

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