California’s Alamo Fire, from space

On July 9, 2017, NASA’s Terra satellite saw this large plume of smoke from the Alamo Fire raging in southern California. NASA said on July 9 that an estimated 24,000 acres had burned. Late in the day on July 10, a local news source, the Lompoc Record, reported that the fire had not grown substantially since Sunday night and is being held at 28,926 acres with 15-percent containment. It also reported:

The fire behavior, however, remains active, according to Cal Fire. Dry and drought stressed timber, chaparral, and grass in the steep inaccessible terrain continue to challenge control lines.

There are 150 to 200 homes in Tepusquet Canyon that have been under threat, according to officials. The fire is continuing to threaten 133 structures as of Monday morning, and one structure has been destroyed.

Mandatory evacuation remains in place only for Tepusquet Canyon.

Smoke from this fire could be seen over a wide area, from the ground as well as from space, as shown in the image below by Mimi Ditchie.

Bottom line: Smoke from the Alamo Fire, blowing over the eastern Pacific Ocean on July 9, seen from space.

Via NASA Earth Observatory