New Wyoming Burn Scar Appears On Google Earth

Google has satellites constantly flying over Earth, updating photos of our planet.

What your house looked like in space a couple of years ago might be quite different from what it looks like today.

This week one of those satellites flew over Wyoming and took a photo of an area that had recently burned in one of our summer fires.

You can see, in the photo below, the burned area and right next to it the older photo from a few years ago.

This is the fire that threatened the tiny town of Chugwater, Wyoming this summer.

Google receives imagery for maps from a variety of vendors, including government agencies, geological organizations, and satellite photography companies.

These images are taken on different days, in different lighting and weather.

Google combines all the images together using photogrammetry.

Let's go back and have a look at how that fire started and was put out just before it reached the town.

The fire was put out before it could cross the interstate.

I made my usual stop in Chugwater on my way to Cheyenne and had my usual lunch at the Chugwater Soda Fountain before visiting friends at the Tri-County Mercantile across the street.

Locals filled me in on the details of the fire.

It all happened so fast.

This satellite photo shows the town of Chugwater, to the south. Up to the north, across the buttes, is a small ranch.

Someone was burning trash at the ranch. BAD IDEA. It's incredibly dry across the region, as you know.

The fire quickly got out of control and a breeze lifted embers up the hill and to the top of the buttes.

The flames raced across the top at such an alarming rate that the local Chugwater fire department was not able to keep up with it.

The fire department called for help.

Below is a photo of the ranch where the fires started. You can see how it climbed up the hills and over the buttes.

Planes began to arrive dropping slurry, a fire retardant, ahead of the advancing flames.

If you should drive by Chugwater on the interstate you'll see where the fire was stopped.

Just at the edge of the interstate, across from the tiny town.

Folks in Chugwater breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the flames die down and the fire department dealing with the last of the hotspots.

The fire raced down the buttes toward the town and was stopped right at this billboard.

The town of Chugwater holds an annual Chili Festival and rodeo every year which helps them pay for things like their little fire department.

Imagine what would have happened if they did not have their Chili Festival, and therefore no fire department.

Thanks to Josh Hopkins and Kimberly Witt of Chugwater for these photos.