Astronaut on ISS Snaps Amazing Pic of Wyoming Wildfire

By Our Amazing Planet

Credit: NASA

Smoke from Wyoming's Fontenelle Fire was visible aboard the International Space Station on June 27.

July 9, 2012 Updated Jul 9, 2012 at 9:59 AM PDT

Astronauts and satellites alike have captured ominous images from space of a fast-growing wildfire that is blazing across Wyoming.

The Fontenelle Fire, burning in the Bridger-Teton National Forest near the state's western border with Idaho, was first reported on the afternoon of June 24. More than 850 people are battling the blaze, and it is only 25 percent contained.

The fire has shut down roads in the region, but so far has not destroyed any buildings or caused any injuries.

The Fontenelle Fire's reach doubled in size between June 28 and July 6, when it grew from 25,000 acres to its current size of 57,324 acres.
A crew member aboard the International Space Station, flying approximately 240 miles (386 kilometers) above Earth, captured an arresting shot of the fire's billowing smoke on June 27, the day before the blaze began its precipitous growth.

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