<p>The Aqua satellite collected this natural-color image of fires in Australia with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on June 30, 2017.  The image looks at multiple fires and smoke from those fires burning in northern Australia and the island of Bathurst on June 30, 2017.   
</p><p>The Northern Territory fire incident map does show some incidents of grass and shrub fires, in the past 24 hours, but it also shows areas of what are called "strategic fires" which are those set by fire experts to rid an area of overgrowth, brush, dead grass and shrubs to prevent fires from spreading in the event of a lightning strike.
</p><p>NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team 
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2017-07-01 10:00
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/35480787832/">Fires in Australia's Northern Territory and Bathurst Island</a>