Recorded by satellite 109 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 3rd strongest of the 9 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 20 March 2026. The last comparable one was on 21 March 2026.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 8 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 189 MW, at nominal confidence, 48 km from Dien Bien Phu.
The 8 pixels cover about 1.1 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.
Wind from ESE at 5 km/h at 23:00 UTC, according to MET Norway.
Nearby, since 20 March 2026
- May 16, 2026 · score 40 · 10.6 km
- May 18, 2026 · score 60 · 18.7 km
- May 17, 2026 · score 60 · 19.4 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 40 out of 100, at 64 % confidence.
The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.
Wind: MET Norway Locationforecast, CC BY 4.0.
Computed under scoring rules v1. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfires |
| Severity | High |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 40 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 64% |
| Coordinates | 20.9943, 102.8432 |
| Nearest City | Dien Bien Phu (48 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Date | 2026-05-16 — time not reported by the source |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@102.843,20.994,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 356.58 |
| Frp | 189.48 |
| PixelCount | 8 |
| Confidence | nominal |
Cascade Risks
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 8 March 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.
Want to know when something happens in this area?
In the news nearby
A list of links found by GDELT for this place and this hazard in the last seven days. External, not ours: we have not read them and do not vouch for them.
GDELT did not answer when this page was rendered, so no news is listed.
GDELT Project · gdeltproject.org
Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 40/100 (Vietnam), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 185 scientific monitoring sources.