Alaskan Burn Scars

Credit: NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC, Posted on: Tuesday, 10 August 2004, 06:00 CDT Download full size image

Large tracts of charred land form the dark burn scars that mar the landscape north of Fairbanks, Alaska in this false-color image, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 5, 2004. The most recent fires, some of which are still burning, have formed rich, dark brown scars, while older scars have faded to a lighter tan. The Yukon River curves through the center of the image, separating the Pingo and Winter Trail burn scars from the other fire scars in the south. As of August 6, a total of 5,566,358 acres have burned in the United States in 2004. Of these, 1,345,764 acres are in Alaska. The largest of the burn scars shown in this image was created by the Boundary Fire, 20 miles northeast of Fairbanks. The fire has been burning since June 13, and has consumed 503,362 acres.

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