NASA satellite image shows smoke from Brian Head fire spreading to Colorado

The Brian Head fire grew more than 10,000 acres overnight as the winds picked up and spread the fire to Mammoth Creek, June 23, 2017 | Photo courtesy of Color Country Fire Interagency, St. George News / Cedar City News

ST. GEORGE — An image released by NASA shows smoke from the Brian Head fire drifting hundreds of miles from Utah as dry weather conditions and abnormally high temperatures remain in the area.

Smoke from Brian Head fire drifts across Colorado as seen by NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite Friday, image courtesy of NASA, St. George News | Click on image to enlarge

“What’s interesting is how far the smoke from the fire carries,” NASA said in a statement Friday. “While fires are usually contained within their state the smoke from the fires affects people for hundreds to thousands of miles from its origin.”

In the image taken by the satellite’s visible infrared imaging radiometer suite instrument, the actively burning areas detected are outlined in red.

“Weather conditions do not favor a quick end to the fire as dry northwest winds flow across the fire through early Sunday,” the statement reads. “Temperatures will remain about 10 degrees above normal with bone dry relative humidity values through Sunday as well.”

Read more: Wind gusts and low humidity exacerbate fire conditions

The human-caused fire started on June 17 and has since charred through over 40,000 acres.

The smoke released by any type of fire is a mixture of particles and chemicals produced by incomplete burning of carbon-containing materials, whether its from brush, crop, structure or forest fires.

The carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, particles and soot are hazardous to breathe and can be particularly devastating to those with respiratory issues, NASA advised.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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