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You're looking at the Caldor fire,
which broke out just south of
Grizzly Flats, California and burned
from August 15 to October 6, 2021.
With upwards of two dozen Earth-observing
satellites, detecting and tracking fires
is an important part of NASA's purview.
But this visualization gives us
a detailed look at the past.
NASA's latest generation of fire-tracking
satellites observes the entire planet
twice per day.
Scientists use the thermal infrared images
from each overpass to identify the
active fire front as well as track
the behavior of large fires.
It's really important for us to be able
to track fires as they change over time,
because the rate of spread, the intensity,
and the total area that burns
all contribute to the impact from
fires on ecosystems, communities,
air quality and greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere.
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Here we can see the Dixie fire,
located in Northern California.
Better geolocation also allow
scientists and fire managers to be more
confident about where the fire
is actually located on the ground.
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Overall, the goal for our team is
to be able to deliver active
fire detection and tracking information
in a way that helps link NASA
satellite capabilities with the needs
with the needs of stakeholders
on the ground.
These stakeholders include fire managers
who track and respond to fires
in real time, and air quality managers
responsible for forecasting and reporting
how fire emissions create unhealthy
air quality for communities downwind
from large fire events.
These data also help support new science.
By tracking the fire every 12 hours,
we can better pinpoint the conditions
under which dangerous fires could
occur and better anticipate the likely
impact on ecosystems from hotter faster
and longer fires in a warming world.
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