On January 7, 2016, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this image of the fire. Red outlines indicate hot spots where VIIRS detected warm surface temperatures associated with the fire. Thick plumes of smoke, visible above a layer of clouds, stream south. The fire burned so vigorously that it fueled its own weather by creating a pyrocumulus—or “fire cloud.” Pyrocumulus clouds are similar to cumulus, but the heat that forces the air to rise (which leads to cooling and condensation of water vapor) comes from fire instead of the sun-warmed ground.