File:Multiple Fires in Colorado and New Mexico (7180316913).jpg

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Colorado and New Mexico and captured smoke and heat from the High Park Fire in Colorado, and the Whitewater-Baldy Complex and Little Bear fires in New Mexico.

On June 10, 2012 at 2030 UTC (4:30 p.m. EDT) the light brown colored smoke and the heat signatures from the fires were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies onboard Aqua.

The High Park Fire is located about 15 miles west of Fort Collins, in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and the Pawnee National Grassland. The High Park Fire has already consumed 20,000 acres and continues to grow.

The Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire has consumed 278,039 acres in the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico and is now 37 percent contained. The Little Bear Fire is burning in eastern New Mexico, and has consumed 34,561 acres, and has zero percent containment. The Little Bear fire is located in the Smokey Bear Ranger District, Lincoln National Forest, including White Mountain Wilderness.

Images: NASA Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Text: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Rob Gutro

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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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