The Dump Fire—which burned in Utah near a landfill 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) south of Saratoga Springs—began on June 21, 2012. By the morning of June 25, the fire was 80 percent contained, but it had charred 5,500 acres (2,225 hectares). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of the fire on June 22, 2012. Vegetation is green; sparsely vegetated or bare land is tan. The fire, which authorities believe was caused by sparks at a shooting range, forced about 2,000 people to evacuate their homes.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Adam Voiland.
