July 19, 2007

NASA SATELLITE CAPTURES IMAGE OF OREGON WILDFIRES

Strong winds are fueling Oregon’s Egley Complex and Monument Complex wildfires, seen in an image captured by the Moderate Resolution Image Spectrometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on July 16, 2007.

There are currently 15 large wildfires burning in Oregon, biggest of which is the Egley Complex Fire, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Egley Fire has singed more than 130,000 acres, or 200 square miles, in the remote county of Harney, in the eastern part of the state. As of July 18, this blaze was 55 percent contained.

The Monument Complex Fire is burning in the Umatilla National Forrest, also in eastern Oregon. The National Interagency Fire Center reports that this blaze was up to almost 27,000 acres and only five percent contained, as of July 18.

Hot, dry conditions have sparked numerous wildfires throughout the western United States in the past weeks. However, fire officials in Oregon are expecting some relief in the form of rain within the next few days.

For the high-resolution image, visit:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14386

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Contact:

Sarah L. DeWitt
Goddard Space Flight Center
Sarah.L.DeWitt@nasa.gov

This text is derived from:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/ore_fires.html

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