July 18, 2022 - Wildfires in France

Wildfires
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An extremely dry spring followed by two blistering heat waves within 30
days, helped set the scene for wildfire outbreaks across Western Europe
in mid-July 2022. On July 15, the Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a
true-color image fires burning in the Gironde department of France.

Copious smoke rises from two large fires, each marked by red “hot
spots”— areas where the thermal bands on the MODIS instrument detected
high temperatures. One of the major fire burns in the pine forests near
La Teste-de-Buch, a town lying on the south shore of Arcachon Bay near
the Atlantic Ocean. The fire, which started on July 12, had burned more
than 6,500 hectares (16,062 acres) by July 17 and caused evacuation of
at least 10,000 residents and tourists. It is said to have reached the
Atlantic beaches, causing the closure of tourist favorites such as La
Lagune and Petit Nice beach.

The second major wildfire sits inland, south of the city of Bordeaux
and near the town of Landiras. As of July 17, more than 3,100 hectares
(7,660 acres) have been scorched and more than 2,000 people evacuated.

Temperatures reached record-breaking levels in France this past week.
On July 14, the town of St-Jean-de-Minervois recorded a high of 40˚C
(104˚F), setting a record for the earliest date in the year that
mainland France has ever reached that temperature. Temperatures are
forecast to reach 40.6˚C (105˚F) on Monday, July 19 in Bordeaux. The
continuing heat, along with windy weather and low humidity levels,
brings high risk of fire spread and new fire ignition, not just to
south-western France but also to much of Western Europe over the next
several days.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 7/15/2022
Resolutions: 1km (46.9 KB), 500m (172.6 KB), 250m (567.8
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=2022-07-18

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