What is NASA FIRMS and how does it detect wildfires?

NASA FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System) uses thermal data from satellites like VIIRS and MODIS to detect active fires. These satellites can detect heat anomalies as small as 375 meters, making them highly effective at spotting wildfires, agricultural burns, and other thermal hotspots from space.

How often is the wildfire data updated?

NASA FIRMS data is typically updated multiple times per day as satellites pass over different regions. The data in this tracker is cached for 10 minutes to ensure responsiveness while maintaining freshness. You can view data from the last 24 hours, 48 hours, or 7 days.

What do the different confidence levels mean?

Fire confidence levels indicate how certain the satellite detection is. 'High' confidence means the detection is very likely a real fire. 'Nominal' confidence indicates a probable fire. 'Low' confidence detections may include false positives from industrial heat sources or other thermal anomalies.

What is Fire Radiative Power (FRP)?

Fire Radiative Power (FRP) measures the rate of radiant heat output from a fire, expressed in megawatts (MW). Higher FRP values indicate more intense fires. This metric helps assess fire severity and is useful for estimating emissions and fire behavior.

Is this wildfire tracker completely free to use?

Yes! This wildfire tracker is completely free to use with no subscriptions or hidden fees. It uses publicly available NASA FIRMS data to provide real-time wildfire information to anyone who needs it.

Wildfire Tracker - Live Global Fire Map | NASA FIRMS Satellite Data

⚙️ Data Source

Satellite

Time Range

Region

🎚️ Filters

Confidence Level

High

Nominal

Low

Detection Time

☀️ Day

🌙 Night

📊 Statistics

Total Fires

Visible

Avg FRP (MW)

Max FRP (MW)

Confidence Distribution

High

Nominal

Low

Daily Fire Detections

Fire Intensity

Low (<10 MW)

Moderate (10-50 MW)

High (50-100 MW)

Extreme (>100 MW)

About the Wildfire Tracker

This free tool displays active fire detections from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). Using thermal satellite data from VIIRS and MODIS instruments, it shows real-time wildfire hotspots detected worldwide.

🛰️ Satellite Sources

Choose from VIIRS (375m resolution) on SNPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21 satellites, or MODIS (1km resolution) on Terra and Aqua for broader coverage.

🔥 Fire Radiative Power

FRP measures heat output in megawatts (MW). Higher values indicate more intense fires. Use this to identify the most severe incidents.

📍 How to Use

Select a satellite, time range, and region, then click "Load Fire Data". Click on markers for details. Filter by confidence to reduce false positives.

⚠️ Important Note

Not all detections are wildfires—industrial heat, gas flares, and agricultural burns can trigger alerts. Use high confidence filters for better accuracy.