image: The fires in California continue and although there has been some success with fighting the fires in Los Angeles and San Diego, the Santa Barbara fire, named the Thomas Fire, continues to devastate the area. This fire has burned more than 230,000 acres and destroyed over 750 building with some estimates having the number of buildings destroyed nearing 1,000. It is the fifth largest fire in California history. The Santa Ana winds are continuing to create issues and dangerous conditions for the firefighters. More than 4,000 firefighters are battling the blazes across the state. NASA's Terra satellite used the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument) on December 10, 2017. Huge clouds of smoke are seen in this image spewing from the fires and blowing away from the coast into the Pacific Ocean. Actively burning areas are detected by MODIS's thermal bands and outlined in red. When accompanied by plumes of smoke, as in this image, such hot spots are diagnostic for fire. view more
Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner