Since early April 2022, NOAA satellites have been watching wildfires across parts of the Southwest and Plains.
The largest fire is located in New Mexico.
The Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak Fires combined into one fire that has already burned more than 55,000 acres.
The second larges fires is the Cooks Peak Fire.
Also located in New Mexico, it has burned more than 55,000 acres.
GOES-17 watched smoke billowing over the region and drifting to areas
upwind bringing hazy skies to communities many miles away.
GOES-17 and GOES-16 also detected hot spots from the fires in
near real-time while providing information on the size and intensity of these fires.
NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP captured daytime and nighttime images of the fires.
They also took air quality measurement and tracked the movement
and thickness of wildfre smoke over the region.
These satellite data help forecast models predict the movement
of the smoke as wildfires burn.
As fire season starts earlier and ends later, NOAA satellites are keeping watch.
Earth from Orbit: Wildfires Across the Southwest and Plains
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