Hot, dry, and windy conditions in south-central Oregon continue to sustain and spread the Bootleg fire—the largest fire (by area) currently burning in the United States.
Smoke from the fire is visible in this image, acquired with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on July 18, 2021. Nearly two weeks after the fire ignited, it has burned 467 square miles (1,209 square kilometers)—about equivalent to the area of the cities of Los Angeles or Phoenix.
Huge smoke plumes have degraded the air quality in communities to the north, northeast, and east of the fire. Forecasters called for areas to the southeast and southwest to see air quality affected next, as the wind direction was expected to shift overnight on July 19.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Text by Kathryn Hansen.
