[NASA] Smoke Rises Over Big Cypress National Preserve

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3. Smoke Rises Over Big Cypress…

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February 25, 2026

On February 22, 2026, a wildland fire was discovered in Big Cypress National Preserve, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Naples, Florida. The blaze, dubbed the National fire, moved through dry vegetation and sent a plume of smoke billowing over parts of the preserve and nearby communities. 

The 

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 (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s 

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 satellite captured this image on the afternoon of February 25. By then, the fire had burned around 24,000 acres (9,700 hectares),

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.

After carrying smoke southward in previous days,

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shifted to start pushing it north by the time Aqua captured this image. According to news reports, the smoke

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and led to the

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of I-75—the interstate nicknamed “Alligator Alley” that runs east-west through the northern part of the preserve. It also contributed to

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. 

The fire continued to spread over the next several days, reaching just over 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares) by February 28, according to

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. As of March 2, it remained roughly the same size and was 38 percent contained. 

The fire’s cause remains under investigation.

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, however, that its spread was driven by ample

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, including vegetation that was dry from persistent,

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and damaged by recent frost. The National Interagency Fire Center’s

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calls for above-normal fire potential across Florida through May.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA 

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 and 

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. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

Downloads

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February 25, 2026

JPEG (1.81 MB)

References & Resources

• Big Cypress National Preserve (2026, February 27)
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  . Accessed March 2, 2026.
• Gulf Coast News (2026, February 26)
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  . Accessed March 2, 2026.
• Gulf Coast News (2026, February 26)
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  Accessed March 2, 2026.
• Lake Okeechobee News (2026, February 27)
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  . Accessed March 2, 2026.
• National Integrated Drought Information System (2026, February 24)
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  . Accessed March 2, 2026.
• National Interagency Coordination Center (2026, March 2)
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  . Accessed March 2, 2026.

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