File:Fires in Northern California (MODIS).jpg

English: Between August 15 and 17, 2023, California recorded more than 4,450 dry lightning strikes as stormy weather moved over the state, sparking several wildfires. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), firefighting crews responded quickly to keep most wildfires in the outbreak to less than 10 acres before being successfully quenched. Unfortunately, with brush, grasses, and fuels in a tinder-dry state due to hot summer weather, several wildfires escaped control, especially in rugged and remote terrain of the Klamath Mountains near the border between California and Oregon.

On August 24, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of fires and heavy smoke across Northwestern California. In this image, Each red “hot spot” marks an area of actively burning fire, while thick smoke pours across the region and over the Pacific Ocean. Smoke also seeps deep into the inland valleys between the mountains.

Several major fire complexes are visible in this image. Fire complexes are groups of two or more fires burning near enough to each other to allow firefighters to address the group as a single unit for planning strategy and attack. The fires visible, from north to south, include the Smith River Complex, the Happy Camp Complex, the Deep Fire, and the SRF Lightening Complex.

The Smith River Complex located in Del Norte County, is located the furthest northwest. It ignited on August 15 and by August 26 had burned 66,094 acres. Happy Camp Complex is inland and southeast of the Smith River Complex. Sparked on August 15, it has burned 17,847 acres and is 15 percent contained. Nearly due south and inland, the Deep Fire is burning in Trinity County. Ignited on August 19, it has spread over 3,833 acres and is considered 58 percent contained. Five new additional fires were found on August 25-26 close to the Deep Fire. To the west and near the coast, the SRF Lightening Complex was first reported on August 15 in Humbolt County. This lightning-sparked blaze has spread over 8,758 acres and is 15 percent contained.