Wildfire Safety and Preparedness

California's Valley Fire Burn Scar As Seen From Satellite Images

Newly-released satellite images this week show the extent of land burned by one of California's most destructive wildfires in state history.

Utilizing a technique with two infrared bands, NASA's Landsat 8 satellite detected the burn scar of the Valley Fire near Middletown, California, about 90 miles north-northwest of downtown San Francisco, on September 20.

False-color shortwave infrared satellite image showing the Valley Fire burn scar near Middletown, California on September 20, 2015. Burned areas appear orange or dark red. (NASA Earth Observatory) — False-color shortwave infrared satellite image showing the Valley Fire burn scar near Middletown, California on September 20, 2015. Burned areas appear orange or dark red.
(NASA Earth Observatory)

As of September 23, the Valley Fire had charred 76,067 acres and was 80 percent contained, according to California's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

This was the third most destructive California wildfire on record, with 1,910 structures destroyed. Four were killed in the fire.

(MORE: Before/After Images of Middletown Destruction)

A zoomed-in view also provided by NASA shows the burned-out hillsides and some charred valley areas around the towns of Anderson Springs, Harbin Springs and Middletown.

Zoomed-in false-color shortwave infrared satellite image showing the Valley Fire burn scar near Middletown, California on September 20, 2015. Burned areas appear orange or dark red. (NASA Earth Observatory) — Zoomed-in false-color shortwave infrared satellite image showing the Valley Fire burn scar near Middletown, California on September 20, 2015. Burned areas appear orange or dark red.
(NASA Earth Observatory)

Two days earlier, NASA and NOAA released a wider view of northern California from the Suomi NPP satellite, with both the Valley Fire and Butte Fire burn scars visible.

False-color image from Suomi NPP satellite showing both the Valley Fire and Butte Fire burn scars (labeled) on Sep. 17, 2015. (NOAA/NASA) — False-color image from Suomi NPP satellite showing both the Valley Fire and Butte Fire burn scars (labeled), as well as several other burn scars (in subtle red shading in the Sierra and north of San Francisco) on Sep. 17, 2015.
(NOAA/NASA)

The Butte Fire burning in Amador and Calaveras Counties in the Sierra foothills scorched 70,868 acres and destroyed almost 820 structures as of September 23, according to Cal Fire.

(MORE: Latest California Wildfire News)

Earlier in September, NASA's Suomi NPP satellite also picked up the Valley Fire in a nighttime satellite image tweeted by the National Weather Service in Sacramento, California.

At the time, the signature of the Valley Fire, as seen through a somewhat thick cloud deck, rivaled the size of the city lights of Reno, Nevada.