Plumes of smoke from several large fires streak across Northern Ireland in this image from May 2, 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired the image, and the fires the sensor detected are marked in red. MODIS also detected fires in Scotland on May 2.
Between April 29 and May 2, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) responded to 755 fires, an ”unprecedented level of operational activity.“ Dry, windy weather allowed numerous fires, many of which had been deliberately set, to spread rapidly, said NIFRS.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
