NASA Map Shows Fires in U.S. So Far This Year
Posted on December 10, 2012
This map from National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) and NASA shows fires in the U.S. in 2012, through the end of October, 2012. Yellow and orange indicate fires that were more intense. You can see a larger version of the map here.
Data from the NIFC indicates there have been 56,088 fires this year, which means 2012 will likely end up below average for the number of fires - the 10-year average is 72,010. However, the average fire size has been larger than usual. Louis Giglio, a scientist based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, says the record for the total number of acres burned in the U.S. is likely to be broken this year. 9.1 million acres have burned as of November 30, 2012. The record - since the NIFC began recording the data in 1960 - is 9,873,745.