39 fire pixels detected · FRP: 82 MW · ~5.5 km²
Geographic Context
This fire event occurred near Vryheid (approximately 26 km away) in South Africa, an area that experiences a range of natural hazards. An estimated 42.6K people live within 35 km of the event location, placing this in the "significant" population impact tier.
Event Assessment
This event is a wildfire detected across 39 satellite thermal detection pixels, indicating an active fire zone. Calamity.live has classified it as "high" severity with a severity value of 55.352. The computed Calamity Score is 30 out of 100, suggesting contained impact at this time. The primary scoring components are: intensity (40), population (40), historical (20). Data for this event was sourced from firms, one of the 250 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
| Type | Fire |
| Severity | high |
| Severity Value | 55.352 |
| Calamity Score | 30 / 100 |
| Confidence | 74% |
| Coordinates | -27.8913, 31.0213 |
| Nearest City | Vryheid (26 km) |
| Population Exposed | 42.6K within 35 km |
| Impact Tier | significant |
| Timestamp | 2026-07-23T23:26:00.000Z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 334.12 |
| Frp | 81.75999999999999 |
| PixelCount | 39 |
| Confidence | nominal |
| Area Km2 | 5.460000000000001 |
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.
Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 30/100, near Vryheid (South Africa), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 197 scientific monitoring sources.