Major Wildfire
Recorded by satellite 28 days ago.
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.
It is the 13th strongest of the 55 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 9 May 2026. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day. 6 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 82 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 733 MW, at high confidence, 587 km from Darwin.
The 82 pixels cover about 11.5 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 ENE at 12 km/h at 06:00 UTC, according to MET Norway.
Nearby, since 9 May 2026
- August 6, 2026 · score 60 · 0.3 km
- August 6, 2026 · score 60 · 0.3 km
- August 6, 2026 · score 60 · 0.5 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 54 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 v1. 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) | 54 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 64% |
| Coordinates | -17.1003, 128.2361 |
| Nearest City | Darwin (587 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Date | 2026-08-05 — time not reported by the source |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@128.236,-17.100,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 732.58 |
| PixelCount | 82 |
| 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 54/100, based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 185 scientific monitoring sources.