Nasa images show wildfire damage to island dubbed ‘Galapagos of California’

A false-color image of burn scars on 20 May in southern California, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) on Nasa’s Aqua satellite. Photograph: Modis/Nasa

Images from a Nasa satellite showcased the devastating scars left behind by a wildfire that consumed roughly a third of Santa Rosa Island, one of the five islands that make up Channel Islands national park off the southern California coast.

Taken on 20 May, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) took the false-color image of the burn area, showing swaths of blackened land.