October 14, 2019 - Wildfires Burning in California

Hot, dry and windy conditions have helped spark fires across California in October 2019. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Central California on October 9 which captured two of the twenty-three fires reported burning that day.

The most northerly fire, indicated by red hot spots and smoke, is the Caples Fire. It originated as a prescribed burn in the Eldorado National Forest in early October designed to be part of a larger, multi-year forest restoration project and begun during favorable damp conditions, conditions became unfavorable for control and the fire was declared a wildland fire on October 11. As of October 13, 2,885 acre have been burnt and the fire perimeter is 35% contained. The Caples Fire has been burning understory and duff primarily as a low-intensity fire and so it still accomplishes the goal of promoting a healthy resilient forest by reintroducing fire to the landscape.

According to media sources, the Briceburg Fire (the more southerly one) was the biggest fire in the region on October 9. The blazed started on October 6 near Highway 140 and Briceburg Road north of Midpines in Mariposa County and has grown quickly. According to CalFire, on October 13 the fire had consumed 5,563 acres and was 60 percent contained. Entry to Yosemite Park has not been affected.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 10/9/2019
Resolutions: 1km (20.1 KB), 500m (75.7 KB), 250m (570.6 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC