VIIRS Nightfire Sees Multiple Wildfires in Arizona

By Mitch Burcham and Elijah Mt. Castle

Continuing our ongoing efforts to report accurate and timely news related to fires around the world, the team at Earth Observation Group at the Payne Institute for Public Policy has created this map of three wildfires within Arizona that are currently destroying thousands of acres around Bighorn, Phoenix and Bringham.

As of June 11, these fires have burned more than 11,000 acres and has forced the immediate evacuation of more than 850 homes mostly within the Bighorn area. After more than a week ablaze, reports state that only 10% of the flames have been contained around Bighorn, and none have been contained for the fires burning around Phoenix and Bringham. The images below have been rendered by the Earth Observation Group using VIIRS Nightfire to show the expansion of the massive fires that are plaguing the most of Arizona. Reports around the country of poor air quality due to smoke accumulation as well as massive land damages make experts fear that the combination of all these fires could have the potential to become a major disaster for the region.

6/26/2020