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A helicopter drops a bucket of water on a smoke column on the Rowe Creek Complex, July 29, 2026, as researchers and students from San Jose State University and the University of Nevada, Reno gather data on the fire plume. The team used a weather balloon, Doppler LiDAR and radar to measure smoke layers and winds up to 10,000 feet, generating three-dimensional images as part of NASA's Injected Smoke and Pyrocumulonimbus Experiment. The data will help improve wildfire models to predict which fires will produce fire-generated thunderstorms and extreme behavior such as downdrafts, lightning, hail and fire tornadoes, increasing firefighter safety and informing resource deployment. (Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt)
Pyrocumulonimbus clouds, the smoke plumes from large wildfires, can sometimes be seen over a hundred miles away. But many aspects of these giant erratic masses of airflow are still a mystery.
The data will help better inform future wildfire models to understand which wildfires will produce fire generated thunderstorms and other extreme wildfire behavior such as down drafts, lightning, hail and fire tornadoes, all of which can be hazardous to firefighters on the ground. Having better predictive models will increase firefighter safety and potentially help firefighters better position resources to fight wildfire. (Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt)
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.03.2026 10:46 |
| Photo ID: | 9843347 |
| VIRIN: | 260729-P-NM884-8340 |
| Resolution: | 5294x3529 |
| Size: | 5.63 MB |
| Location: | PRINEVILLE, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 1 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Researchers Study Smoke Plume Data During Rowe Creek Complex [Image 8 of 8], by Andrew Avitt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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