File:Smoke cloud on the West Coast of the United States.jpg

English: Extreme weather is battering the Western United States in September 2020, with multiple and out-of-control fires raging along the Pacific Coast. US states most affected are California, Oregon and Colorado. In California, more than 2.2 million acres have burned so far. Three of the state’s four largest wildfires on record have occurred between August and September 2020, all with burnt areas exceeding 300,000 acres. In Oregon, whipping winds and dry conditions have caused several wildfire outbreaks. On 8 September, in Marion County - South of Portland - officials implored some residents to evacuate their houses as fires that have burned through more than 27,000 acres were approaching densely populated areas. This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites on 8 September, shows the smoke cloud (about 500,000 km2 in surface) caused by the multiple wildfires ongoing in California and Oregon. The Copernicus Sentinel3 mission is equipped with two sensors, OLCI (Ocean Land Colour Instrument) and SLSTR (Sea Land Surface Temperature Radiometer): The SLSTR sensor, in particular, allows a daily wildfire monitoring and detection activity thanks to its Short Wave Infrared and Thermal bands.