Monitoring fires in southwestern Amazonia Rain Forests

this disaster and defining emergency actions and policies. By mid-July, hot spot counts (fire pixels in satellite images) for Acre began to climb. In mid-August, counts from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)-12 sensor had exceeded the number for all of 2004, and anecdotal reports of fires escaping control and invading forests became frequent. Smoke began to affect urban life in Rio Branco, the capital of Acre. At a meeting of Acre’s State Fire Committee, satellite imagery from MODIS sensors combined with hot spot data and meteorological information convinced the committee to recommend the prohibition of fires. The governor of Acre proclaimed the prohibition, but hot spot counts continued to climb until the total for 2005 was more than twofold that of 2004.