On May 21, 2018, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color image of smoke billowing from several wildfires in central Manitoba, Canada.

The fires burned near Lake Winnipegosis, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of Winnipeg. CTV News Winnipeg reported that hundreds of people were evacuated from the Sapotaweyak Cree community located along the lakeshore.

According to Natural Resources Canada, the forecasted fire danger for the area that day was extreme. An extreme status means fires could be fast-spreading, high-intensity, and very difficult to control.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using MODIS data from LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Text by Kathryn Hansen.