MSGID: 1:317/3 642b1449   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   April 3, 2023 - Smoky Fires in North Carolina's Smoky Mountains   
      
      Wildfires   
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      In late March 2023, smoke-filled fires were burning across the   
      Southeastern United States, especially in western North Carolina. The   
      Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s   
      Terra satellite acquired a true-color image centered on the border of   
      Tennessee (west) and North Carolina (east) on March 30. At least 5   
      fires, each marked with a red “hot spot” can be seen in the Smoky   
      Mountains of western North Carolina along with one in the Piedmont   
      region further east in that state. In addition, 3 fires are burning in   
      Tennessee, two in South Carolina (south of North Carolina) and one in   
      Virginia, and a large fire with abundant smoke can be seen in Kentucky.   
      
      Springtime is the start of fire season in the Southeastern United   
      States, as vegetation tends to be dry, temperatures on the rise,   
      humidity still low, and spring showers often are accompanied by strong,   
      gusty winds. It is also the time when fires are set to manage land,   
      either for agriculture (croplands and pasture) or wildland (forest,   
      wildlife habitat) management. The fires in this image are likely a mix   
      of wildfire and managed fires.   
      
      According to Inciweb, there were no large active fires in this region   
      on March 30. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Incident   
      Management Situation Report for March 31 lists only two large fires in   
      North Carolina, and both of those were in the Coastal region of the   
      state. On the other hand, the U.S. Forest Service announced prescribed   
      burns in the Pisgah National Forest from March 29-30. The Pisgah   
      National Forest extends over more than 500,000 acres of hardwood forest   
      in the mountains of western North Carolina. Several of the hot spots   
      seen in the image appear to be part of this prescribed burn. The large   
      fire in Kentucky is undoubtedly a prescribed burn which was occurring   
      in Daniel Boone National Forest in late March.   
      
      Widespread brush fires have also been reported in this region,   
      especially in western North Carolina after a strong storm system   
      brought roaring winds and hazardous weather on March 31-April 1. Local   
      news reported that the North Carolina Forest Service responded to 91   
      wildfires across North Carolina on April 1 as high winds led to many   
      downed or damaged powerlines, which provided ignition sources for   
      several of the fires.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Aqua   
      Date Acquired: 3/30/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (53.1 KB),  500m (179.9 KB),  250m (566.4   
      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=2023-04-03   
       
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