Image: Gap Fire in California slows growth

The Gap Fire continues to burn on the Klamath National Forest in northern California. As of early the morning of September 09, the fire is 31,664 acres and 85% contained. Containment lines set up by firefighters continue to hold and the increase in fire damage is due to islands of vegetation deliberately set to burn fuel inside the perimeter of the containment line.

Crews will continue with mop-up and backhaul of equipment and trash. Additionally, they will begin suppression repair work which will prevent erosion and unauthorized use and will also include repairing roads that were damaged during suppression efforts. The fire will back down through remaining interior islands of vegetation. Smoke from the interior fire will continue to be visible. Predicted winds from the northeast will likely move smoke from the Gap Fire area to the southwest giving residents of the area a break from the constant smoke cover.

This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on September 08, 2016. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red.  NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner with information from Inciweb.