March 9, 2023 - Fires in the Southeastern United States

Fires
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Dozens of fires were burning across the Southeastern United States on
March 7, 2023, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of
the region.

Six states are visible between the clouds in this image. Starting in
the northeast and moving clockwise, they are Kentucky, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. Active fires
are present in all states, with the highest number visible in Piedmont
and Coastal regions of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Given the time of year, the number of fires, and their location, it is
likely that most of these fires are either prescribed burns or
agricultural in origin. The Southeastern United States is
agriculturally rich, and fire is a useful tool used to clear old crops,
renew pastureland, and open new areas for use. Early March is prime
time to prepare ground and plant new crops.

Fire is also essential in some fire-dependent ecosystems, such as the
southeastern oak and pine savannas. The southern pine ecosystem, the
only home to the endangered Red Cockaded Woodpecker, is adapted to
slow-burning, low-intensity and frequent wildfires. Prescribed burns,
deliberately set and managed to clear underbrush, help sustain
fire-adapted ecosystems as well as prevent high-intensity burns in
forests or grasslands where brush is allowed to overgrow.

While most of these fires are deliberately set, some wildfires are
currently burning. According to state fire management links on the
National Interagency Fire Center’s website, North Carolina reports 94
wildfires burning on about 450 acres across the state on March 7. None
of these are large enough to be reported on the Inciweb Incident
Information System, however.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/7/2023
Resolutions: 1km (93.2 KB), 500m (335.7 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=2023-03-09

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