Fires and smoke in Central Alaska
Heavy smoke coming from forest fires around Fairbanks, Alaska, has drifted south and appears to be lined up with the clouds at the bottom of the image. The fire just right of center is the MP 78 Elliott Highway Fire, and to its east is the West Fork Chena Fire. Both of the fires continue to spread, crossing rivers and roads, and threatening structures. This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on May 27, 2002.