(NASA Earth Observatory)

The West, notorious for its large, mercurial wildfires, often dominates headlines during wildfire season.

And for good reason, according to the Insurance Information Institute, the top 10 most wildfire prone states, based off data from the National Interagency Fire Center, are all located in the West. So far this year there have been multiple, massive blazes like California's King Fire, which grew to more than 97,000 acres -- larger than Las Vegas, Atlanta and Philadelphia -- and burned a dozen homes in EL Dorado County.

Fires like the King Fire are part of a storyline that plays out far too often in the West, and it's onlyforecast to get more intense in coming years, fueled by climate change and prolonged droughts.

So it's easy to forget that most fires are small, "prescribed" burns, set intentionally to curb the potential for massive infernos like the ones often found in the West, revitalize fire dependent ecosystems and pave the way for planting come spring.

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Once again, NASA found a way to illustrate that point. A recently released image (shown above, full resolution here) taken by NASA's Aqua Satellite on October 22, 2014 shows the South on fire (intentionally). All of those tiny red dots, from Tennessee to Florida and Arkansas to Georgia, represent small fires, captured during a pass by NASA's satellite.

According to NASA, this scene isn't uncommon. Up to 77 percent of all fires spotted by NASA's satellite from 2001 to 2010 were all of the prescribed or smaller variety, the space agency notes. And 'tis the season for prescribed burns in the South, too. NASA also says that October is an ideal time for setting prescribed burns in the forest-rich South to clear the way for crop planting post-winter.

Unfortunately, not everything about prescribed burns is good for the environment. Even though the fires are small, the cumulative smoke emissions from the blazesare a major contributor to emissions in the U.S, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), reports.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: California Wildfires, August 2014

California Wildfires: King Fire

Traffic passes on U.S. Highway 395 northeast of downtown Reno on Monday, Sept. 22, 2014 as dense smoke drifts in from a California wildfire more than 60 miles away. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)