Major Wildfire
Recorded by satellite yesterday.
A thermal anomaly is a snapshot of one satellite pass, not a record of a fire’s life: we cannot say whether it kept burning after that pass.
No stronger detection stands among the 19 recorded within 20 km of this point since 23 July 2026 — 2 others scored the same. The last comparable one was on 31 August 2026.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 125 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 1068 MW, at high confidence, 570 km from Palmerston.
The 125 pixels cover about 17.5 km² — that is the footprint of the detection grid at 375 m resolution, not an estimate of how much land burned.
FIRMS does not report burned area, and neither do we.
Wind from N at 18 km/h at 15:00 UTC, according to MET Norway.
Nearby, since 23 July 2026
- August 31, 2026 · score 50 · 0.6 km
- August 31, 2026 · score 36 · 0.7 km
- September 1, 2026 · score 57 · 1.0 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 57 out of 100, at 64 % confidence.
The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.
Wind: MET Norway Locationforecast, CC BY 4.0.
Computed under scoring rules v2. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
Under rules v1–v3, Critical for a wildfire measured only the radiative power the satellite saw, not the people near it; since v4 (1 September 2026) it also requires exposed population. This page keeps the word it was published with.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfires |
| Severity | Critical |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 57 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 64% |
| Coordinates | -16.5007, 134.2831 |
| Nearest City | Palmerston (570 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-09-01T03:42:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@134.283,-16.501,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 1068.36 |
| PixelCount | 125 |
| Confidence | high |
Cascade Risks
Safety Information
If a wildfire is approaching: follow evacuation orders immediately. Do not wait to see the fire. Close all windows and doors, remove combustible materials from around your home, and have an emergency go-bag ready. Air quality can deteriorate rapidly even at distance from the fire front — monitor local air quality advisories.
Series begins 8 March 2026. Comparisons refer to that period only. Collection gap: 14-26 August 2026.
This data is aggregated algorithmically from scientific sources. Not a replacement for official emergency warnings.
Want to know when something happens in this area?
Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 57/100, based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 185 scientific monitoring sources.