image: Although the Mendocino Complex made up of the River Fire and Ranch Fire is still blazing, it is almost fully contained. At 93 percent containment, it is expected that full containment of the fire could come as early as Sept. 1, 2018. The total acreage that has been impacted by both fires is 459,102 acres making it by far the largest fire in California history. The next closest was last year's Thomas Fire at 281,893 acres. The Ranch fire alone has consumed 410,182 acres. In the satellite image, smoke from the northernmost edge of the fire is still visible and the dark brown areas that surround the Clear Lake show the areas that the River and Ranch fires have consumed.
Fire officials do not expect any forward fire progression. The potential for more fire spotting lessens as the small islands that are burning burn out. This allows more depth along containment lines to hold the fire in place. Lower temperatures and humidity as well as light winds assist firefighters in their efforts to contain the fire, too.
NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview application provides the capability to interactively browse over 700 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the underlying data. Many of the available imagery layers are updated within three hours of observation, essentially showing the entire Earth as it looks "right now. This satellite image was collected on Aug. 29, 2018. Actively burning fires, detected by thermal bands, are shown as red points.
Credit: Image Courtesy: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Caption: Lynn Jenner with information from Inciweb.