August 2, 2007

NATION’S MOST ACTIVE WILDFIRES RAGE IN MONTANA

Several large wildfires are burning out of control in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. Montana currently has the most wildfire activity of any state, with 12 large fires burning more than 93,970 acres as of Aug. 1, 2007, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).

Fires have forced the closure of a number of highways over the past several days, and several communities located near these massive blazes have been evacuated, according to news reports.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that Montana’s northern Rockies experienced a moderate to sever drought in late July. These dry conditions have helped fuel these severe fires.

As of Aug. 1, 2007, the largest fires in the state were the Meriwether and Ahorn fires, burning 20,745 and 36,311 acres respectively. However, over the past 24 hours, the Skyland fire has spread rapidly, growing by an estimated 7,505 acres to a total of 16,055 acres, the NIFC reports.

Although Aug. 1, 2007, marks the beginning of the summer wildfire season, drought and high temperatures have brought extreme fire activity to this area early.

For the high-resolution image, visit:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14422

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Contact:

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

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

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