Wildfire while lingers over the Pacific Northwest Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory shows large plumes of smoke over the Pacific Northwest from fires that broke out after an unprecedented heatwave struck the region last month. 

In late June, more than 40 fires started burning across British Columbia – fueled by the extreme heat and wind. According to NASA, this number has now jumped to more than 200 active fires, 15 of which were considered fires that threaten public safety. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency was to have a distinctly civilian orientation, encouraging peaceful applications in space science. Since its establishment, most US space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System, Commercial Crew vehicles, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for uncrewed NASA launches.

Wildfire while lingers over the Pacific Northwest The image was captured on July 8, 2021, with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer