Wildfire near Pietermaritzburg
Recorded by satellite 69 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 9th strongest of the 60 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 10 March 2026. The last comparable one was on 20 June 2026. 4 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 34 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 306 MW, at nominal confidence, 9 km from Pietermaritzburg.
The 34 pixels cover about 4.8 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.
An estimated 665,963 people live within 35 km of this point.
Nearby, since 10 March 2026
- July 21, 2026 · score 53 · 3.9 km
- July 22, 2026 · score 53 · 4.5 km
- July 22, 2026 · score 86 · 6.6 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 53 out of 100, at 74 % confidence.
The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfire |
| Severity | high |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 53 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 74% |
| Coordinates | -29.5875, 30.3042 |
| Nearest City | Pietermaritzburg (9 km) |
| Population Exposed | 666.0K within 35 km |
| Impact Tier | severe |
| Timestamp | 2026-06-23T11:32:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@30.304,-29.588,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 355.73 |
| Frp | 306.39 |
| PixelCount | 34 |
| Confidence | nominal |
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 10 February 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.
Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 53/100, near Pietermaritzburg (South Africa), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 188 scientific monitoring sources.