Fire Journal Entry
More Fires Blaze in Australia (January 15, 2003)
Many large fires can be seen burning in southeastern Australia in this satellite photo. Courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA/GSFC.
New fires blazed out of control in southeastern Australia this week. Many of the blazes were sparked by lightning after strong thunderstorms moved across the region. About 1,700 firefighters battled several large fires burning across the forests of Victoria.
One of the fires forced the closure of Mount Buffalo Park, a popular recreational area. Other fires burned in the Great Dividing Range Mountains separating New South Wales and Victoria.
Eastern Australia has been plagued by fires for more than two months. Much of the region is in the midst of one of its worst drought in decades. Meteorologists say the dry conditions have been made worse by this year's El Niño, a global climate pattern marked by warmer than normal ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean around the equator.
