File:Fires in southeastern United States (MODIS 2015-02-15).jpg

English: It seems that in some states the wildfire season has started early this year. In Georgia specifically, wildfires have broken out due to high winds, low humidity and a lot of fuel present which are the perfect combinations for a brush fire to ignite, such as in DeKalb, Georgia. DeKalb is near Atlanta, which can be easily seen as a large, spider-like (circular with extending �legs�), set of gray pixels in the northwestern area of Georgia. Atlanta is the most prominent man-made feature in this image.

Other fires seen in this image may be prescribed fires set to manage the upcoming fire season. Agricultural fires are used by farmers to clear fields of debris and overgrowth. Prescribed fires are also used by the Forestry Service as a way to clear brush and undergrowth, primarily from wildlands, and a means to control wildfires. Getting the detritus under control before a fire breaks out makes wildfires easier to contain should they ignite. The U.S. Park Service website claims: "Wildfires can be caused by nature�like lava or lightning�but most are caused by humans. As many as 90 percent of wildland fires in the United States are caused by humans. Some human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, negligently discarded cigarettes and intentional acts of arson. The remaining 10 percent are started by lightning or lava."

This true-color satellite image was acquired d by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on February 07, 2015. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS�s thermal bands, are outlined in red.