February 13, 2023 - Burn Scars in Chile
Burn Scars in Chile
Tweet
Share
Stoked by a summer heat wave and strong winds, widespread fires have
been raging through south-central Chile since February 2, 2023. On
February 10, ReliefWeb reported that the forest fires have caused
extensive damages, including 24 deaths and 5,557 people injured. The
report also stated that 1,205 houses had been destroyed and 5,599
houses were damaged as of that date.
On February 11, ABC News said that Chile’s Interior Ministry confirmed
that more than 889,000 acres (359,766 hectares) had been burnt so far.
The fires are burning mainly in Maule, Ñuble, Biobío, and La
Araucanía). The worst fire on record (which goes back to 1985) was in
2017, when 570,000 hectares (1,408,500 acres) burned. On February 9,
the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image of massive fire
scars in central Chile, south of the Biobío River. This is compared
with a Terra MODIS image acquired of the same area on February 2, only
a week prior and on the day the wildfire was barely beginning.
This type of false-color image combines infrared and visible light
(MODIS bands 7,2,1) to separate vegetation (bright green) from water
(deep blue or black) and fire scars. Fresh fire scars typically appear
brick red, dark brown, or even charcoal depending on the extent of the
burn and the color of the exposed soil. Over time, vegetation begins to
regrow and the fire scars lighten. The difference in just a week is
stunning. On February 2, only a few very light burn scars from previous
years were visible. By February 7, numerous fresh burn scars stretched
over an extensive area. Smoke (light blue) rises from the largest fire
just south of the Biobío River, indicating it is still actively
burning.
Air temperatures in Chile’s hard hit regions have exceeded 104 degrees
Fahrenheit (40° Celsius), helping create tinder-dry vegetation and
hindering firefighting efforts. Meanwhile, warm easterly winds blown
from Argentina down the slopes of the Andes, also known as “Puelche
winds,” contributed to the rapid spread of the fires. Chile is in the
midst of a drought, which has lowered reservoirs and caused tensions
over water. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the
13-year megadrought in central Chile is the longest in at least 1,000
years.
Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 2/9/2023
Resolutions: 1km (137.7 KB), 500m (335.8 KB), 250m (201.6
KB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-02-13
--- up 50 weeks, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)