The Esperanza fire started on October 26 in the dry brush near Palm Springs, CA. By the time it was contained 6 days later, the fire had consumed 40,200 acres, and destroyed 34 homes and 20 outbuildings. Racing through grass, brush, and timber, the blaze had forced hundreds to evacuate, and it killed five firefighters who were working to protect homes. Fire officials are reporting the cause of the blaze as arson. In this ASTER image composite of visible and infrared bands, burned areas are shown in shades of red, vegetation is green, brown vegetation is brown and asphalt and concrete are blue-gray. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01900

This frame is from a visualization of the rapid advance of the Esperanza Fire over the San Jacinto Mountains Riverside County, CA between 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM on October 26, 2006.

A high-tech infrared imaging sensor in its underbelly pod, the Altair UAS flew repeated passes over the Esperanza fire to aid firefighting efforts.