August 7, 2019 - Fires in Washington State

On August 2, 2019, a band of early morning, lightning-rich thunderstorms rolled across parts of Washington, sparking an aggressive wildfire in the Colville Indian Reservation. As of August 6, the Williams Flats Fire, as this fire is called, has consumed 15,000 acres of short grass, timber, and brush in steep and rugged terrain. With 764 personnel fighting the fire, the perimeter has been 20% contained. According to the on-line Incident Information System (Inciweb), the next 72 hours will see a continuation of hot, dry weather with wind patterns which favor moderate fire activity. The estimated full containment date is August 16.

On August 4, 2018, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the Williams Flats Fire burning in Washington State.

Red hot spots mark areas where the thermal bands on the MODIS instrument detected high temperatures. Accompanied by heavy smoke, these mark areas of actively burning fire. The Williams Flats Fire is burning south of the town of Keller, in steep terrain near the Columbia River.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/4/2019
Resolutions: 1km (47.4 KB), 500m (186.7 KB), 250m (616.4 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC