Satellite images of wildfire smoke now available for Media

Images showing smoke from Interior Alaska wildfires suitable for publication in newspapers and for still images for television are available from the Geographic Information Network of Alaska Web site, located at http://www.gina.alaska.edu/media/. These images have been reduced in size to allow for easy media use. The new images demonstrate how the smoke situation in Alaska's Interior has evolved over the last three days (July 27 through July 29, 2005). More images will be available as they are received and processed, so check the Web site often for updates.

On Tuesday, July 27, Fairbanks was directly in the path of smoke blown in from fires just north of Eagle. In the following days, smoke blanketed the entire Interior, which led to an air quality alert issued for the region by the Division of Air Quality of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC).

Statewide imagery, updated in near-real-time, is available by following the link "Alaskan Images Fire/Smoke" at http://www.gina.alaska.edu.

GINA, a facility at the Geophysical Institute, was established in 2001 as the University of Alaska's mechanism for organizing and sharing diverse geospatial data and technological capabilities.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
ADEC Wildfire Smoke Web site: http://www.dec.state.ak.us/air/smokemain.htm
Online Air Quality Advisories: http://www.dec.state.ak.us/air/am/aq_sr.htm

CONTACT:
Tom Heinrichs, Acting Associate Director of GINA: 907-474-6897.
Amy Hartley, Geophysical Institute Information Officer: 907-474-5823.

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