Photo Story: Australia’s Kangaroo island burn scars can be seen from space

A handout photo made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of a satellite image captured via NOAA-20, high resolution bands 4, 2, 1, showing roughly half of Kangaroo Island, off the southern coast near Adelaide, Australia, destroyed by fire.

Kangaroo Island lies off the mainland of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. About a third of the island is made up of protected nature reserves which are home to native wildlife which includes sea lions, koalas and diverse and endangered bird species, including glossy black-cockatoos which have been brought back from the brink of extinction over the last two decades.

Photo: EPA-EFE/NOAA HANDOUT