MSGID: 1:317/3 6303c432   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   August 22, 2022 - Fires in Queensland   
      
      Fires in Queensland, Great Barrier Reef   
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      On August 17, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer   
      (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of   
      fires scattered across Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.   
      
      Each red “hot spot” marks an area where the thermal bands on the MODIS   
      instrument detected high temperatures. When combined with typical   
      smoke, as in this image, such hot spots mark actively burning fire.   
      Most of the gray plumes of smoke blow towards the northwest, carried by   
      strong winds.   
      
      Although it’s not possible to discern how a fire started from satellite   
      imagery, given the time of year most of the fires in this image are   
      likely prescribed burns—fires deliberately set to manage wildlands.   
      Some may also be agricultural fires, which have been ignited to manage   
      pasture or prepare cropland for planting. The Queensland Fire and   
      Emergency Services report no current bushfires in the region, although   
      they give advice on several prescribed burns. The Queensland Department   
      of Environment and Science, Parks and forests, also reports several   
      prescribed burns, either ongoing or planned.   
      
      Fire has been used by Indigenous Australians as a traditional a part of   
      maintaining a healthy savanna. In northern Australia, traditional   
      burning starts in April, just before the end of the wet season, and   
      lasts into September. At the end of the dry season (October-November),   
      vegetation has browned and dried out, creating significant risk for   
      severe bushfire. The early burning on Indigenous lands, which is   
      relatively low temperature and well-controlled, helps reduce fuel load   
      and minimizes the likelihood of a dangerous conflagration later in the   
      season. Over the last few decades, the Australian government has also   
      embraced early dry-season prescribed burns as an effective way to   
      manage wildlands and prevent devastating bushfires. The success in this   
      fire-management program points to the importance of working with First   
      Nations people to use and preserve their knowledge for future   
      generations.   
      
      One very large fire, accompanied by a massive fire scar, can be seen   
      burning in the west of Cape York Peninsula. The burn scar (area singed   
      by fire) appears dark brown and is ringed by hot spots, especially in   
      the west, nearest the Gulf of Carpentaria. This fire appears to be on   
      First Nation land, in savanna grassland located between Staaten River   
      National Park in the east and Rutland Plains Nature Refuge in the   
      northwest. It began on August 13 on the eastern side and has moved to   
      the west and north. On August 20 the fire was nearly extinguished,   
      except for a small area in the northwest. At that time, the burn scar   
      covered about 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles) and had   
      neat, straight lines at the edges. Both the location and the straight   
      edges strongly suggest this is a well-managed prescribed burn.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Aqua   
      Date Acquired: 8/17/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km (87.1 KB),  500m (315.5 KB),  250m (1 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-08-22   
       
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