Massive wildfires in California as seen from space

An intense heatwave coupled with the Santa Ana winds lead to an outbreak of multiple wildfires throughout California this week. Most of those wildfires originated from the Bernardo Fire, which had ignited on May 13, 2014. 

In just 24 hours they were so massive that they could be easily seen from space.

As of May 14, the fires have burned an area of at least 17 211 acres or 70 km2 and injured at least 7 people in San Diego County. One person has been found dead in Carlsbad.

The following image was acquired on May 14, 2014. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red.

Image credit: Terra MODIS. May 14, 2014. Edit: The Watchers

Featured image: NASA MODIS / Terra – May 14, 2014.