WASHINGTON - NASA satellites have obtained new images of the California wildfires, illustrating the scale of the blazes. The National Interagency Fire Center reports that 12 large, uncontained fires have burned more than 335,000 acres in Southern California.

The latest images are accessible on NASA's Web site and new images will be posted as they become available. A video file will air on NASA TV at 2 p.m. EDT, during mission coverage of STS-120.

These new NASA satellite images of the wildfires show the area between Los Angeles and San Diego. Fire activity is indicated by red pixels. Vast plumes of thick smoke can be seen blowing out over the Pacific Ocean.

The first image was captured by NASA’s Terra satellite at 2:25 p.m. EST on October 23. The second image was acquired by NASA’s Aqua satellite at 5:40 p.m. EST, just over three hours later.

To view and download the images and for additional information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/socal_wildfires_oct07.html

The NASA TV schedule for STS-120 is available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/mission_schedule.html