Northern California wildfires visible from space

Dixie fire became third-largest wildfire in state history overnight

Satellite imagery has shown the extent of wildfires raging in California, with the images revealing how the blazes can be seen from space.

Recordings shared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite West satellite.

“As wildfires continue to consume portions of the western US NOAA satellites are closely monitoring the situation,” the agency said in a tweet on Thursday.

They added: “This imagery of several large ones and the smoke they’re producing in Northern California was captured yesterday.”

The satellite imagery showed wildfires billowing out from multiple areas in Northern California, with smoke stretching across the state.

On Friday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire), three active fires of interest were still burning.

The biggest of the three, the Dixie Fire, covered 43,2813 acres and was 35 per cent contained as of 7am that morning.

Dixie exploded in size overnight, becoming the third-largest wildfire in state history and the largest wildfire currently raging in the nation.

The blaze tore through Greenville on Wednesday evening, destroying businesses and homes and casting an orange glow over the sky.

“If you are still in the Greenville area, you are in imminent danger and you MUST leave now!!” the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook in a dire warning on Twitter earlier on Wednesday.

The fire department said that the River fire was 2600 acres and 30 per cent contained as of 8.23am while the House Fire was 40 acres and 45 per cent contained as of 6.58am.

On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for Siskiyou County due to the Antelope Fire and for Nevada and Placer counties due to the River Fire.

“The fires collectively have burned thousands of acres, destroyed homes and caused the evacuation of thousands of residents,” a release from the governor’s office said.

Mr Newsom announced the same day that he secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support the state’s response to the River Fire.