Here's what that huge fire in Alaska looks like from a NASA satellite

funnyriver

Here's a false-color image from the Landsat 8 satellite of the not-at-all funny Funny River Fire in Alaska, captured on May 20, 2014–just one day after it began. And below, an un-enhanced natural color image.

The fire broke out on the Kenai Peninsula on the evening of May 19, 2014, and quickly blew up into a massive wildfire. In two days, it spread to a total of 43,000 acres. A week later, on Monday, May 26, the fire had expanded to an area about the size of Chicago.

The blaze remains active today, May 27, 2014: some 182,009 acres have been affected, and the fire is still only 30% contained.

The weather forecast for the region includes high likelihood of rain, which would be great news for firefighters and residents.

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