The Texas Wildfire Is So Big, You Can See It From Space
The largest fire in the state’s history now covers nearly 1.1 million acres, and has destroyed cattle ranches.
A view of the Smokehouse Creek fire from a fire truck in the Texas panhandle.
Photographer: Greenville Firefighter Association/Getty ImagesA massive fire blazing across the Texas Panhandle and parts of Oklahoma this week spans nearly 1.1 million acres (1,700 square miles), making it the largest fire in Texas history. The inferno, dubbed the Smokehouse Creek Fire, is so big that it's visible from space.
The imagery, which shows thermal hotspots linked to the Smokehouse Creek Fire, is what’s known as a false color visualization. This type of image displays portions of the infrared spectrum sensitive to fire activity. It was captured by GOES-16, a satellite that orbits roughly 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface.