Calamity
highFireCalamity Score: 44

Large Wildfire

78d agoRustenburgSouth AfricaSource: firms

20 fire pixels detected · FRP: 161 MW · ~2.8 km²

Geographic Context

This fire event occurred near Rustenburg (approximately 27 km away) in South Africa, a region where fynbos vegetation, dry winters, and strong winds create a distinct and recurring fire season. An estimated 81.0K people live within 35 km of the event location, placing this in the "severe" population impact tier.

Event Assessment

This event is a significant wildfire detected by satellite with a fire radiative power of 161 MW, suggesting active, intense burning across multiple detection pixels. Calamity.live has classified it as "high" severity with a severity value of 52.221999999999994. The computed Calamity Score is 44 out of 100, reflecting a moderate-impact event. The primary scoring components are: intensity (60), population (55), historical (30). Data for this event was sourced from firms, one of the 196 scientific monitoring sources aggregated by Calamity.live.

Regional Monitoring Context

South Africa has a documented history of fire events. Wildfire activity in the region is monitored through NASA FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System), which provides near-real-time active fire data from MODIS and VIIRS satellites. Fire behavior is influenced by vegetation type, moisture content, wind patterns, and terrain — all factors that determine whether an initial ignition becomes a major event.

Event Data

TypeFire
Severityhigh
Severity Value52.221999999999994
Calamity Score44 / 100
Confidence74%
Coordinates-25.4346, 27.1588
Nearest CityRustenburg (27 km)
Population Exposed81.0K within 35 km
Impact Tiersevere
Timestamp2026-06-12T11:38:00.000Z

Score Breakdown

60
intensity
55
population
0
cascading
30
historical

Technical Details

Brightness352.41
Frp161.10999999999999
PixelCount20
Confidencenominal
Area Km22.8000000000000003

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.

This data is aggregated algorithmically from scientific sources. Not a replacement for official emergency warnings.

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Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 44/100, near Rustenburg (South Africa), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 196 scientific monitoring sources.