We are not the only ones wishing for rain. Wildfires have been burning for much of the month to our west. NASA’s Aqua Satellite picked up several hot spots and smoke plumes on a pass on June 19th.

Several states are dealing with several thousand acres of charred and burning land.

The High Park Fire in Colorado has burned over 83,000 acres (about 130 square miles), is only 45 percent contained and has destroyed 248 homes.  This photo is from the Nebraska National Guard as they dump water over portions of the fire.

The Little Sand Fire, also in Colorado, has burned around 17,000 acres and there are six other fires burning in the state making this the worst fire season in a decade for Colorado.

New Mexico is also having a bad year with the Little Bear Fire burning around 40,000 acres and 254 homes.  It is 90% contained.  The Whitewater Baldy Fire, also in New Mexico, has burned 297,800 acres (465 square miles) and is 87% contained.   The following photo was taken in the Gila National Forest by Kari Gree.

Native trout that had been making a comeback in the Forest had to be rescued from the local streams. Hopefully they will survive the shock of the rescue!

Heading over to Arizona, the Poco Fire is 65% contained after burning almost 12,000 acres. This picture is care of the U.S. Forest Service.

And a fire near the Nevada/Utah state line, the North Schell Fire, has burned almost 12,000 acres and is 77% contained. This photo is from WhitePineNews.com:

To my knowledge, we don’t have any wildfires in the state of Iowa right now, but we are still dry and not expecting any rain for a few days. Plus we will be getting windy and hot for the middle of the week. Keep your eyes out for any burn bans that the State Fire Marshal puts forward. It is going to be be a warm one!

Posted under Miscellaneous, NASA