• MODIS Pic of the Day 19 June 2022

    From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Sun Jun 19 12:00:38 2022
    June 19, 2022 - Prescribed Burn in Sequoia National Forest

    Prescribed Burn in Sequoia National Forest
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    On June 16, 2022, fire personnel were completing multiple ignitions in
    the heart of the Giant Forest of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National
    Parks as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on
    board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the region.
    The red “hot spot” marks the areas of actively burning fire in the
    Tharps-Hazelwood Prescribed Burn. Heavy smoke rises from the fire and
    blows to the northeast.

    The Giant Forest is precious territory, filled will hundreds of monarch
    sequoia trees including the world’s largest tree (measured by volume),
    the General Sherman Tree. This tree stands 275 feet (83 m) tall and
    over 36 feet (11 m) in diameter at the base. These massive, ancient
    trees were threatened by the severe KNP Fire Complex, which burned
    88,307 acres between September 9 and December 16, 2021. The huge,
    incredibly hot fire killed burned in much of the Sequoia and Kings
    Canyon National Parks, killing more than a thousand sequoia trees and
    damaging structures. Thanks to good fire management, including
    prescribed burns, aggressive fire-fighting techniques, and an element
    of sheer luck, the Giant Forest was spared serious damage.

    Prescribed fires are fires that are deliberately set to manage forest
    and reduce the danger of potentially catastrophic wildfire. Giant
    sequoias are a species that have adapted to fire. Their bark is
    protective and can survive low-grade fires while the seeds germinate in
    the ash bed left behind a fire. Fire opens the forest canopy, allowing
    sunlight to reach seedlings. Fires also reduce deadwood, which stops
    reproduction of sequoia and increase the risk of a devastatingly large
    wildfire. The National Park Service notes that historically, widespread
    fires have burned in sequoia groves at average intervals ranging from 6
    to 35 years.

    Prescribed fires contribute to forest health and public safety. The
    National Park Service explains that a fire's "prescription" includes
    detailed analyses of geographic and ecological conditions. A
    prescription is the window within which a fire may be ignited. These
    conditions maximize our ability to control the fire and to minimize
    smoke in local communities. If the weather doesn't meet the
    prescription, the fire is not ignited.

    The Tharps-Hazelwood Prescribed Burn had been originally planned for
    last spring but was postponed due to site conditions being too dry at
    the time. InciWeb Incident Information System quotes Superintendent
    Clay Jordan as saying, “I am relieved we were able to complete this
    critical prescribed burn. Last year’s KNP Complex Fire demonstrated how
    important low-intensity recent fire history is in protecting giant
    sequoia groves from catastrophic wildfire.”

    The first ignition of the Tharps-Hazelwood Prescribed Burn occurred on
    June 9 and the last fire was started on June 16. With ignitions
    complete, firefighters will continue to patrol the area as vegetation
    inside the unit burns down. Many trails and areas near the prescribed
    burn will be closed until further notice, although visitors can still
    visit many features, including the General Sherman Tree.

    Image Facts
    Satellite: Aqua
    Date Acquired: 6/16/2022
    Resolutions: 1km (19.5 KB), 500m (70 KB), 250m (227.1 KB)
    Bands Used: 1,4,3
    Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



    https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-06-19

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