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From: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Hot and dry conditions over the Iberian Peninsula produced dozens of forest fires in Portugal in August 2003. Hundreds of firefighters worked for several weeks to control large forest fires in central and southern Portugal. Media reports indicate that about 70,000 residents in nearby communities were without power or phone during the fires, and 15 people lsot their lives. These images of the fires (marked in red), were captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra and Aqua satellites in July and August 2003.