California Wildfires Visible Even From Space

Darwin, 20 May: The devastating scale of two major wildfires spreading across Southern California has now been captured in satellite imagery. Photos taken from space show massive plumes of smoke stretching across large sections of the sky.

According to the BBC, citing California Governor Gavin Newsom, the “Sandy Fire” began in the city of Simi Valley, located northwest of Los Angeles. Satellite images taken shortly after noon local time showed huge clouds of smoke rising from the southern edge of the city.

California fire officials said on Tuesday that around 750 firefighters are currently working to contain the blaze. They are being assisted by specialized night-flying helicopters capable of dropping water on high-risk hotspots during nighttime operations.

According to a report by CBS News, preliminary information suggests the fire may have started after a person struck a rock with a tractor, creating sparks that ignited dry vegetation. The fire has already spread across 1,364 acres (550 hectares), and none of it has yet been brought under control.

Data from NASA’s wildfire monitoring platform shows that the active fire moved further south between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

More than 10,000 households in and around Simi Valley have already been evacuated to safer locations. In addition, evacuation warnings have been issued for another 3,500 homes, including areas in neighboring Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said there is currently no immediate indication that the fire will spread directly into the city itself. However, the warnings were issued as a precautionary measure.

A spokesperson for the fire department said that although strong winds helped the fire spread rapidly, wind speeds eased somewhat later in the day.

Previously, in January 2015, a fast-moving and destructive wildfire in the Los Angeles region killed around 30 people and destroyed more than 10,000 homes.

Meanwhile, satellite imagery has also detected another wildfire on Santa Rosa Island, located off the Los Angeles coast.

According to the U.S. National Park Service, approximately 14,600 acres (6,000 hectares) of the island — part of Channel Islands National Park — have already burned. Although the fire was first reported on Friday, California officials had still not managed to contain any part of it by Monday evening.