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Smoke Streams from Palisades and Eaton Fires

A satellite image of the southern California coast around Los Angeles. Three distinct light gray plumes of smoke stream south from the land over the ocean. Areas of smoke are also visible in the hills north of downtown Los Angeles.

Destructive fires, fueled by a dry landscape and powerful Santa Ana winds, burned in the Los Angeles area in January 2025. Smoke from the Palisades and Eaton fires, which both broke out on January 7, was visible in satellite imagery for several days after they ignited. They were the largest of several fires that burned in the area as strong winds tore through the region.

The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image (above) at approximately 10 a.m. local time on January 10. At this time, a red flag warning remained in effect in the area, which means conditions were favorable for the ignition and spread of fire.

Centered in the image, several distinct plumes streamed south over the ocean from the Palisades fire, which burned through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and west into Malibu. The fire had spread to 20,400 acres (83 square kilometers) and was 8 percent contained by this point, according to Cal Fire. To the east, smoke billowed from the Eaton fire in and around Altadena. This fire had burned 13,700 acres (55 square kilometers) and was 3 percent contained at the time of the image.

A satellite image of the southern California coast around Los Angeles. Light gray plumes of smoke stream south from the land over the ocean.

The following day, the MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image around 2 p.m. local time. The orbits of the Terra and Aqua satellites are timed such that MODIS instruments observe Earth’s surface each morning and afternoon, respectively.

While both large fires remained active on the afternoon of January 11, only plumes from the Palisades fire are easy to discern in the image. The Palisades fire had grown to 22,700 acres and was 11 percent contained, while the Eaton fire expanded slightly to 14,117 acres and was 15 percent contained, reported Cal Fire.

A reprieve from the gusty wind conditions on January 11 helped firefighters make progress toward containing both blazes. However, forecasters expected strong winds and fire weather to return in subsequent days.

NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System has been activated to support agencies responding to the fires, including the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The team will be posting maps and data products on its open-access mapping portal as new information becomes available.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Image of the Day Fires Remote Sensing

Several plumes billowed from Los Angeles-area fires in the days after their ignition.

Image of the Day for January 14, 2025

Instruments:
Aqua — MODIS
Terra — MODIS

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