On Oct. 27, 2003, DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite took this
natural color image of the Grand Prix fire in southern California. The
Grand Prix Fire, also called the Fontana or Rancho Cucamonga Fire,
started on Hunters Ridge above Fontana, Calif., on Oct. 21, 2003, by
arson. As shown in the accompanying map, it burned north to Lytle
Creek and Devore, and west at the urban/wildland interface above
Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Claremont and LaVerne. The portion in Los
Angeles County is called the Padua Fire. It joined with the Old
Waterman Fire, started Oct. 25, by arson north of the city of San
Bernardino. The combined fire is referred to as the Grand
Prix/Old/Padua Fire. After spending two weeks raging out of control,
charring more than 150,000 acres and destroying more than 1,000 homes,
the fire was declared contained Nov. 5, 2003.
To see DigitalGlobe’s California Fires Gallery,
click here.
Image courtesy: DigitalGlobe
Map courtesy: California Mountain Area Safety Taskforce (CalMAST)
