Weather satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have revealed "explosive growth" in a massive wildfire currently burning in northern California.
Images captured by NOAA's GOES 17 satellite and shared by the agency on Twitter show multiple plumes of smoke forming and spreading throughout the satellite's observation area during a nine-hour period on Saturday and Sunday (July 30 and 31). "The wildfire has become California's largest fire of 2022, scorching more than 50,000 acres as thousands of residents are forced to evacuate," NOAA tweeted along with the images.
The wildfire, known as the McKinney Fire, has consumed over 50,000 acres (20,200 hectares) in the Klamath National Forest near the California-Oregon border. The blaze was exacerbated by drought conditions, powerful winds and high temperatures throughout the region, according to according to The New York Times. More than 2,000 residents have fled the area due to the conflagration, and two deaths so far have been reported as a result of the fire, the New York Times reports.
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The McKinney fire generated what is known as a pyrocumulonimbus cloud, or "fire cloud" — essentially, a thunderstorm created by the heat, moisture and pollutants that fires send can upwards into the atmosphere. These fire clouds can then, in turn, produce lightning strikes that create even more wildfires. For this reason, NASA calls these storms the "fire-breathing dragon of clouds."
NEW: @NOAA's #GOES17🛰️ was watching as California's #McKinneyFire showed explosive growth on Saturday. The #wildfire has become California's largest fire of 2022, scorching more than 50,000 acres as thousands of residents are forced to evacuate. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/RLGxjWu7vGAugust 1, 2022
Additional satellite imagery shared by Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, shows the formation of the massive pyrocumulonimbus cloud 50,000 feet (15.25 kilometers) tall that channels smoke into the atmosphere.
Remarkable satellite imagery this AM in NorCal/OR. #McKinneyFire exploded last night, generating massive pyrocumulonimbus cloud ~50,000 ft tall (!!). You can see smoke at two different heights: most in troposphere, but some (possibly) injected into stratosphere (!). #CAwx #CAfire pic.twitter.com/Ri7IKcsnk8July 30, 2022
The McKinney fire was zero percent contained as of Monday (Aug. 1) morning, according to California's fire agency. The National Weather Service issued another red flag warning Monday, meaning there is still a risk of further wildfires in the area due to "abundant lightning on dry fuels."
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