By Mitch Burcham and Elijah Mt. Castle
The team at Payne Institute’s Earth Observation Group has been able to render this image using VIIRS NightFire technology to give an exclusive look at the recent wildfire that has spread through the East Desert of Arizona. Visible on the map, in and around the black outline of Cave Creek Recreational Area, is the region where the human caused wildfire forced more than 130 homes to be evacuated. The dots represent the collective heat signature of the fire as it rapidly spread and increased in temperature, propelled by high winds in the area. Firefighters are working fast, however. Just 4 days after the outbreak the wildfire, officials have announced that close to 80% of the flames have been controlled and the evaluation order has been lifted. With increased use of aerial firefighting techniques Arizona and the rest of Southwest America has been able to avoid the devastation wildfires have brought to places like Poland and Australia this year.