Fires burned along the coast of Queensland, Australia on October 17, 2009. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image the same day. Red outlines indicate hotspots associated with actively burning fires. Thick plumes of smoke blow away from the fires predominantly toward the northwest, although two large clusters of fires west-southwest of Cairns send their smoke toward the southwest.
On October 19, the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service reported that fire crews had battled 41 blazes the previous day, and warned that severe fire danger continued throughout the state, urging residents to be vigilant.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Michon Scott.
