Late fall is often a perfect time for controlled or prescribed fires on public lands in the Pacific Northwest. Vegetation growth has slowed and rains and snows have increased, minimizing the danger for out-of-control spreading. Also, the coming winter snowpack means a protective ground covering that reduces erosion. This pair of true- and false-color images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on the Terra (top) and Aqua (bottom) satellites shows a handful of fires (red dots) in Oregon in the morning (Terra) and afternoon (Aqua) of November 25, 2002. Many of these fires are likely part of a prescribed burning plan for the state’s lands.
Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
