Smoke smothers Southern California in gripping photos from space
As multiple wildfires wreak havoc on Southern California, astronauts and satellites are documenting the scene from above.
The images offer a different perspective on the scope of the fires, with most capturing massive plumes of smoke.
Copious columns of gray-brown smoke pour off the edge of California's coast in this image of wildfires taken by our @NASAEarth satellites on December 7: https://t.co/gnZxhGy3s3 pic.twitter.com/JvYBaPlEj0
— NASA (@NASA) December 8, 2017
“This week, @OrbitalATK’s #Cygnus cargo craft launched 14 CubeSats into Earth orbit after leaving @Space_Station,” NASA said on Twitter. “The station crew saw California’s wildfires & shared imagery with first responders, helping efforts on the ground.”
Astronaut Randy Bresnik of the NASA Expedition 55/56 crew is among those keeping an eye on the blazes.
He even sent a shout-out to first responders and citizens doing their part to stop the fires.
I was asked this evening if we can see the SoCal fires from space. Yes Faith, unfortunately we can. May the Santa Ana’s die down soon. #Californiawildfire pic.twitter.com/qNzjTjWa4t
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) December 6, 2017
Thank you to all the first responders, firefighters, and citizens willing to help fight these California wildfires. #CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/TyeGx4z85Q
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) December 7, 2017
Today’s pass over SoCal unfortunately doesn’t look any better. The fires east of Camp Pendleton and in Baja are visible as well. #CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/khM9TK1u0F
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) December 7, 2017
Cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky, known for making spacewalks outside the International Space Station, was also watching the fires’ progress:
Some new photos of forest #fires in Southern #California... pic.twitter.com/fb8qKZE2Sj
— Сергей Рязанский (@SergeyISS) December 8, 2017
#Fires in Southern #California...The smoke plume from the California wildfires as seen from the International Space Station. pic.twitter.com/sP40CO3tIl
— Сергей Рязанский (@SergeyISS) December 7, 2017
“Data & imagery of the California wildfires from our satellites, people in space and aircraft, not only give us a better view of the activity, but also help 1st responders plan their course of action,” NASA said on Twitter.
As massive wildfires continue to rage in Southern California, our satellites, astronauts and aircraft are keeping an eye on the blazes from above. https://t.co/Yj6ORMedFA pic.twitter.com/ormtCQcwDF
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) December 7, 2017
During an engineering flight test of the Cloud-Aerosol Multi-Angle Lidar (CAMAL) instrument, a view from @NASAArmstrong's ER-2 shows smoke plumes, from roughly 65,000 feet, produced by the #ThomasFire , around 1 p.m. PDT on December 5th, 2017. Photo Credit: Stu Broce pic.twitter.com/c6El8F0HJN
— NASA Armstrong (@NASAArmstrong) December 6, 2017
Smoke from the Southern California fires is making it to the Bay Area, SFGate reported Friday. The region has a Spare the Air alert and residents are likely to smell smoke.
This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Smoke smothers Southern California in gripping photos from space."