Bushfires in Victoria, Australia

Two large bushfires burned in Victoria, Australia, on January 28, 2014, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image. The fires are marked in red. The larger of the two fires appears to be the Club Terrace fire, which the Victorian government reports has burned 5,567 hectares. The other fire is most likely the 1,884-hectare Yalmy fire in Snowy River National Park, but could be any of a number of other fires burning nearby.
February is usually the high point of the fire season in Victoria. With a heatwave in the forecast, the state has brought in additional firefighters to prepare for extreme fire danger.

1. References

2. Country Fire Authority (2014, January 29) Fireys arrive in Victoria. Accessed January 29, 2014.
3. VicEmergency (2014, January 29) Incidents and warnings. Accessed January 29, 2014.

NASA image courtesy LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.

Instrument: 

Aqua - MODIS - NASA