NASA: Smoke Fills North American Skies Raging fires filled the skies of southern Canada and the northern United States with smoke in mid-May 2023. The fires had scorched 478,000 hectares (1,800 square miles) in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan as of May 16, which is ten times the average area burned for this time of year. Related: Over 100 Wildfires Force Tens of Thousands of People […] Fire Firebrains | May 17, 2023 0 Comments
Over 100 Wildfires Force Tens of Thousands of People to Evacuate in British Columbia and Alberta More than 100 wildfires raged across Western Canada in early May 2023, forcing tens of thousands of people in Alberta and British Columbia to evacuate. The fires destroyed homes and produced chimneys of smoke that reached the upper troposphere. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image (above) of smoke billowing from fires in the […] Fire Firebrains | May 10, 2023 1 Comment
Record-Breaking Wildfires Have Burned Over 2 Million Acres in Alaska, Covering Half the State in Smoke Summertime in Alaska is supposed to be magical (except for the mosquitos). Endless daylight and copious amounts of outdoor activities means recreational opportunities are prime before the harsh, dark, cold winter comes. However, this summer has been plagued by wildfires. There are still several months left in wildfire season, but Alaska has already surpassed 2 million acres burned this season. […] Fire Brent Thomas | July 7, 2022 0 Comments
Over 770,000 Acres Already Burned by Wildfires in Alaska This Year This article originally appeared on nasa.gov On June 4–5, 2022, thunderstorms moved across south-central and southwest Alaska, delivering nearly 5,000 lightning strikes and igniting dozens of wildfires. It was the latest outbreak in an unusually active fire season so far. As of June 14, 2022, there were 85 active fires burning across the state. More than half of them were burning in southwest Alaska, […] Fire Firebrains | June 15, 2022 0 Comments
Colorado Wildlife Department Planning to Invest $20 Million Into Fire Prevention Tactics The Colorado Wildlife Department is gearing up for another wildfire season by investing $20 million into an updated Wildlife Preparedness Plan. The CWD believes that Colorado’s mountains and plains are at risk for more wildfires than ever before. The department estimated there will be about 5,507 fires. According to the 2022 Wildlife Preparedness Plan, the fires will burn about 221,661 […] Fire Haleigh Hafner | May 3, 2022 0 Comments
Forest Service Ends Regional Closure Order in California 2 Days Early; 5 Forests Remain Closed Under Local Orders The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region will end the regional closure order affecting National Forests in California at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 15, two days before the original end date of Sept. 17. However, forest-wide closures will remain in place and be extended until midnight on September 22nd on the Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino, and Cleveland National […] SnowBrains | September 15, 2021 0 Comments
NASA: Climate Change is Pushing Wildfires to Higher Ground ‘Climate Change Pushes Wildfires to Higher Ground’ first appeared on NASA Earth Observatory and was written by Ashley Balzer. Scientists have known for decades that climate change makes wildfires more common, larger, and more intense. Now an international team of scientists has demonstrated a new connection between fires and global warming. Using data from Landsat satellites, they discovered that wildfires […] Fire Firebrains | September 8, 2021 1 Comment
NASA Images: The Arc of Fires in the US West As August 2021 came to an end, 42,647 fires had scorched 4,879,574 acres across the United States in 2021—close to the ten-year average for the first eight months of a year, according to statistics from the National Interagency Fire Center. But among the 83 fires still actively burning on August 31, some were especially fierce; two of them had crossed […] Fire Firebrains | September 1, 2021 1 Comment