image: Naturally occurring fires are not uncommon in the drier forests and grasslands of Mexico, but these fires could also certainly be a product of human activities. Some fires are intentional, set by people to clear forest, savannas, and grasslands for ranching or farming. Other fires occur accidentally from human activities. In addition, landscapes that have been disturbed by logging, fragmentation, or previous accidental fire are more prone to catch fire accidentally. In these situations, planned (or prescribed) fires (such as brush clearing fires on already cleared land) can easily get out of control and invade other areas. It is unclear which type of fires these are from the number present in the image, but it is clear these are indeed fires and not hot spots due to the smoke that is streaming off most of the red outlined areas. The Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of these fires occurring on the western coast of Mexico on June 03, 2017 with the VIIRS instrument (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite). Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red. view more
Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner