![\"GOES-15](\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2015\/06\/150615_goes15_goes13_shortwaveIR_TX_pipeline_fire_anim.gif\")
<\/a>GOES-15 (left) and GOES-13 (right) 3.9 \u00b5m shortwave IR channel images [click to play animation]<\/p><\/div>An explosion occurred along a natural gas pipeline near Lindenau, Texas just after 01 UTC on 15 June 2015 (8:00 pm local time on 14 June). The thermal signature or “hot spot” of the resulting fire was detected on both GOES-15 (GOES-West)<\/em> and GOES-13 (GOES-East)<\/em>\u00a0 3.9 \u00b5m shortwave IR imagery (above; click image play animation)<\/strong><\/em>. The images have overlays of surface reporting stations (yellow),<\/em> Interstate highways (cyan),<\/em> and primary highways (gray)<\/em>. The relatively small but very hot fire exhibited IR brightness temperatures as high as 341.1 K on GOES-13 and 340.0 K on GOES-15, which is close to the saturation temperature for the 3.9 \u00b5m detectors on those satellites. Since GOES-13 was in Rapid Scan Operations (RSO) mode at the time, the fire hot spot was first detected by that satellite (at 0107 UTC) — and the IR brightness temperature remained at 341.0 K for another 40 minutes after initial detection (0115 to 0155 UTC).<\/p>\n A subtle signature of the fire’s smoke plume (lighter gray enhancement)<\/em> could be seen moving northwestward and then northward away from the fire hot spot. On the 0125 UTC GOES-13 shortwave IR image (below),<\/strong><\/em> and overlay of the CRAS model<\/strong><\/a> winds showed them turning from southeastward at the surface (in agreement with regional METAR surface reports) to southerly at an altitude of 3 km, suggesting that the smoke plume may have reached that height.<\/p>\n