California’s Woolsey Fire has left a burn scar so big you can see it from space

While the Woolsey Fire burning in Southern California has been 98 percent contained as of Tuesday night, it’s left a huge mark on the landscape.

According to the state’s fire services, the wildfire has burned almost 97,000 acres, an area so vast you can see it from space.

NASA shared an image of the “burn scar” taken on Nov. 18 using the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) that sits on on the space agency’s Terra satellite.

Burned vegetation in the area appears brown, while green indicates unburned vegetation. Buildings and roads are light gray and white. According to NASA, the colors have been altered to look more natural.

According to a post on NASA’s earth observatory website, this satellite data assists with recovery efforts after the wildfires. 

In particular, the images are being used for a NASA-funded project with Idaho State University called the Rehabilitation Capability Convergence for Ecosystem Recovery (RECOVER), an online mapping tool that allows fire managers to access data on 26 variables including land slope, soil type, and burn severity.

It’ll be quite the task, as the Woolsey Fire alone has destroyed 1500 structures and damaged 341, according to Cal Fire.

The Woolsey Fire has seen the deaths of three civilians, with the statewide death toll standing at 84, the combined result of the devastating Camp Fire, now the deadliest fire in California’s history.