Whitewater-Baldy fire, New Mexico
The Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire is becoming more contained every day, thanks to almost 900 people fighting the fire. On June 8, 270,722 acres had burned in the Gila National Forest, and the fire was 30 percent contained.
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over New Mexico on June 7 at 1955 UTC (3:55 p.m. EDT) and the wind was blowing from the southwest, pushing streams of light brown colored smoke to the northeast. The smoke and the heat signatures from the fires were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies onboard Aqua.
The wildfire is located in rugged terrain and is burning timber, mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, pinon/juniper and grasses, as well as dead vegetation. The U.S. Forest Service reports that there are 35 engines, 27 Water Tenders, 4 Dozers and 10 Helicopters involved in fighting this large fire. For updated information on the fire, visit Inciweb at: www.inciweb.org/incident/2870/
Images: NASA Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Text: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Rob Gutro