Calamity
highFireCalamity Score: 39

Large Wildfire

35d agoGa-MalakheSouth AfricaSource: firms

42 fire pixels detected · FRP: 152 MW · ~5.9 km²

Geographic Context

This fire event occurred near Ga-Malakhe (approximately 26 km away) in South Africa, a region where fynbos vegetation, dry winters, and strong winds create a distinct and recurring fire season. An estimated 13.0K people live within 35 km of the event location, placing this in the "significant" population impact tier.

Event Assessment

This event is a significant wildfire detected by satellite with a fire radiative power of 152 MW, suggesting active, intense burning across multiple detection pixels. Calamity.live has classified it as "high" severity with a severity value of 72.482. The computed Calamity Score is 39 out of 100, suggesting contained impact at this time. The primary scoring components are: intensity (60), population (40), 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 Value72.482
Calamity Score39 / 100
Confidence74%
Coordinates-30.9485, 30.1142
Nearest CityGa-Malakhe (26 km)
Population Exposed13.0K within 35 km
Impact Tiersignificant
Timestamp2026-07-25T11:32:00.000Z

Score Breakdown

60
intensity
40
population
0
cascading
30
historical

Technical Details

Brightness347.45
Frp152.40999999999997
PixelCount42
Confidencenominal
Area Km25.880000000000001

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 39/100, near Ga-Malakhe (South Africa), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 196 scientific monitoring sources.