WASHINGTON – The hot and dry start of summer has triggered a number of forest fires from Alaska south. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) geostationary satellite has been capturing striking images of wildfires in south-central and southwest Alaska since early June.
Lightning strikes from thunderstorms set off wildfires earlier this season, which spread over the dry vegetation of a cool winter. As of Thursday June 30, 2022, there were 157 active fires across Alaska.
In just one month, wildfires in the state have burned more than 1.6 million hectares. These conditions exceed a threshold that Alaska has not reached at the start of the fire season in decades.
“This year has been an unusually active fire season in the region, with abnormally warm and dry conditions that have caused more than 300 wildfires to blaze in recent weeks,” the NOAA official wrote. /7/2022).
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The fires include the East Fork Fire in the western part of the state near the Yukon Delta. It is one of the largest tundra fires on record and has burned more than 250,000 hectares since May 31.
Meanwhile, the Limestone Complex Fire in the southwestern region of the state is even bigger, spreading over more than 600,000 acres. Smoke and debris from the fires have compromised air quality, prompting the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to issue warnings for many areas of the state, according to the statement.
NOAA’s satellites provide important information about forest fires and how they spread. Specifically, the scientists used data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instruments on the NOAA-20 satellite and the Suomi NPP Joint Polar Satellite System to detect and track forest fires, especially in remote areas.
“The high spatial resolution of the VIIRS allows the instrument to detect smaller fires and lower temperatures. The VIIRS also provides nighttime fire detection capabilities via the Day-Night Band, which can measure the low-intensity visible light emitted by small and new fires,” the NOAA official wrote.
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