38 fire pixels detected · FRP: 166 MW · ~5.3 km²
Geographic Context
This fire event occurred near Mthatha (approximately 35 km away) in South Africa, an area that experiences a range of natural hazards. An estimated 1.2K people live within 35 km of the event location, placing this in the "minor" population impact tier.
Event Assessment
This event is a significant wildfire detected by satellite with a fire radiative power of 166 MW, suggesting active, intense burning across multiple detection pixels. Calamity.live has classified it as "high" severity with a severity value of 71.214. The computed Calamity Score is 35 out of 100, suggesting contained impact at this time. The primary scoring components are: intensity (60), historical (30), population (25). 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 | 71.214 |
| Calamity Score | 35 / 100 |
| Confidence | 74% |
| Coordinates | -31.5740, 29.1462 |
| Nearest City | Mthatha (35 km) |
| Population Exposed | 1.2K within 35 km |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-06-27T11:55:00.000Z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 166.07 |
| PixelCount | 38 |
| Confidence | high |
| Area Km2 | 5.32 |
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 35/100, near Mthatha (South Africa), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 197 scientific monitoring sources.