image: Fires burned throughout Bolivia in late August. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on August 31, 2013. view more
Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Lynn Jenner
Fires burned throughout Bolivia in late August. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on August 31, 2013.
Red outlines indicate areas where MODIS has detected high surface temperatures associated with actively burning fires. In many places, the smoke from these blazes is thick enough to completely hide the land surface below from the satellite sensor's view. In general, the smoke plumes blow toward the west and northwest.
Wildfires can occur naturally in Bolivia, but the widespread burning evident in this image likely results from agricultural fires aimed at clearing brush or crop residue. Some agricultural fires can burn out of control.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Lynn Jenner