The bushfires in southeast Australia are still burning out of control, and news reports indicate only substantial rainfall will extinguish them. On February 3, 2003, a smoke warning was issued for Melbourne and related areas, and this Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) image from Feb. 3 shows why. A large plume of smoke blankets the southeastern part of New South Wales and northeastern Victoria. The plume stretches out over Bass Strait toward Tasmania. To date, the fires have burned more than 2 million acres.
Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE
