NASA releases aerial image of California wildfire damage

NASA has released a new aerial image showing the devastation caused by the recent wildfires in northern California, which have claimed the lives of 42 people and burned through more than 200,000 acres of land.

Credit: NASA: Red indicates vegetation, while dark grey indicates areas that have burned over the North Bay area.

This latest image was acquired by ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) on October 21. Covering an area of 38 by 39 miles, it shows the extent of the damage caused by wildfires, with vegetation in red and burned areas appearing dark grey, over the North Bay area.

ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments, launched Dec. 18, 1999, and was built by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and its data products.

“The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.”

The wildfires, which began on Monday (9 October), were swept throughout northern California by high winds and were most damaging in the Atlas Peak-Stag’s Leap area near Yountville, in Sonoma County between Kenwood and Santa Rosa, and in the mountains north and west of Calistoga.

A total of 42 people have now been confirmed to have lost their lives, including a fire worker, while many wineries have been severely damaged or destroyed. 

As of Wednesday, a total of 3,800 firefighters remained on the front lines of nine active wildfires, according to Cal Fire, many of which were projected to be “fully contained” by the end of this week.

“Firefighters continue to extinguish hot spots and perform fire suppression repair work,” a statement read. “Temperatures across the State remain warm and dry. Firefighters are prepared for potential high fire activity in Southern California due to gusty winds and low humidity.”

Since the start of the wildfires nearly three weeks ago, Cal Fire has responded to 250 new wildfires. At the peak, 11,000 firefighters battled 21 major wildfires that claimed the lives of 42 people, burned over 245,000 acres of land, forced 100,000 people to evacuate and destroyed an estimated 8,700 structures. 

Find out how you can help support the relief effort here.