In the midst of another brutal fire season, several of California’s natural treasures have also been threatened.
In the midst of another brutal fire season that has threatened many lives, homes, and businesses, several of California’s natural treasures have also been threatened. Still burning after nearly nine weeks, the Caldor fire has encroached on Lake Tahoe. Now some of the world’s oldest and largest trees are being threatened by fires at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada range.
On September 15, 2021, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired imagery of the KNP fire complex, the Windy fire, and the thick smoke plumes both have released. The image below includes infrared data with the thermal signature of some fire fronts beneath the plumes. NASA’s Terra satellite acquired broad-area images of the same region from September 10-16.
According to InciWeb and other sources, the KNP complex was ignited by a significant lightning storm on September 9–10. The Paradise fire and the Colony fire started separately near Sequoia National Park and have been marching across the drought-ravaged landscape toward a merger. By the morning of September 16, the KNP complex had burned 8,940 acres (36 square kilometers). (A complex includes two or more separate fires that burn in very close proximity, have the potential to merge, and are managed by a unified firefighting group.)
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Image via NASA Earth Observatory
