image: Dry tinder, naturally occurring weather, and hot weather make for dangerous conditions in the Southwest. Three fires which all began by lightning strikes in the month of May are still burning in New Mexico and Arizona.
The North Fire, the largest of the three, is burning in the San Mateo mountains. It has grown to 21,722 acres in the three weeks it's been burning and is only 30% contained at present. Dry weather continues in the area making it difficult to contain this blaze.
The Paddy Creek wildfire, which began on May 20, 2016, is 778 acres in size and is 25 miles SE of Whiteriver, Arizona. It is mostly contained at this point.
The last fire seen in this satellite image, taken by the Aqua satellite with the MODIS instrument on June 14, 2016, is the Mckenna Fire. This fire began on May 06, 2016 and is 9,425 acres in size. The Mckenna Fire is located 8 miles west of the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. This fire is currently in monitor status. The fire is being managed to remove hazardous fuels, clear forest debris and decrease the potential for high severity fires in the future.
Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red.
Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner with information from Inciweb.