Red boxes outline the locations of several fires burning in southeastern Australia on March 7, 2011. The fires are burning primarily in the dark green forest-covered Australian Alps in Victoria. Though the smoke pouring from the fires makes them appear to be large wildfires, most are controlled burns. The locations of the fires align with a map of planned fires released by the state government of Victoria.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image early in the afternoon on March 7. The large image, which includes a wider area, shows several more small fires burning throughout Victoria and New South Wales.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
