Persistent heat source near Baton Rouge
Right now
The most recent data we hold from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) arrived 16 minutes ago, and this point is not in it. We record detections, not passes: an absence is not proof that nothing is there.
4 other detections within 20 km in the last 24 hours, the nearest 9 km from here.
The satellite has seen heat at this spot on 27 earlier days since 23 February 2024, in 8 of the twelve months of the year. Heat that is there in every season usually comes from industry (a steelworks, a refinery flare, a gas field) or from routine burning, not from a wildfire. NASA's data do not say which.
27 satellite detections of this fire · 14 – 23 September 2026
A satellite sees a burning fire on each of its passes. This page gathers every detection of this fire; the address of each one leads here.
| Day and time (UTC) | Radiative power | Distance from Baton Rouge |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Sept 18:12 | 64 MW | 21 km |
| 23 Sept 08:37 | 32 MW | 4 km |
| 22 Sept 08:54 | 54 MW | 4 km |
| 22 Sept 07:58 | 50 MW | 4 km |
| 21 Sept 19:34 | 497 MW | 24 km |
| 21 Sept 19:34 | 493 MW | 24 km |
| 21 Sept 08:18 | 490 MW | 24 km |
| 21 Sept 08:18 | 469 MW | 25 km |
| 21 Sept 08:18 | 511 MW | 23 km |
| 21 Sept 07:32 | 481 MW | 25 km |
| 20 Sept 19:53 | 665 MW | 27 km |
| 20 Sept 19:53 | 473 MW | 25 km |
| 20 Sept 19:53 | 501 MW | 25 km |
| 20 Sept 08:35 | 209 MW | 24 km |
| 20 Sept 07:51 | 198 MW | 25 km |
| 20 Sept 06:55 | 185 MW | 26 km |
| 19 Sept 20:12 | 210 MW | 22 km |
| 19 Sept 20:12 | 87 MW | 8 km |
| 18 Sept 19:47 | 180 MW | 15 km |
| 18 Sept 19:46 | 155 MW | 21 km |
| 18 Sept 18:50 | 149 MW | 20 km |
| 18 Sept 08:30 | 141 MW | 20 km |
| 17 Sept 20:06 | 110 MW | 24 km |
| 16 Sept 18:43 | 75 MW | 9 km |
| 15 Sept 08:30 | 60 MW | 4 km |
| 15 Sept 07:45 | 50 MW | 4 km |
| 14 Sept 08:48 | 58 MW | 4 km |
This page covers the record dated 14 September 2026. Browse recent observations in this area:
Recorded by satellite 53 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 102nd strongest of the 174 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 10 February 2024. The last comparable one was on 13 September 2026. 33 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 27 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 58 MW, at nominal confidence, 4 km from Baton Rouge.
The 27 pixels cover about 3.8 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.
Urban PEI: 234,240 within a heuristic 35 km radius; not unique people.
Nearby, since 10 February 2024
- August 30, 2026 · 2.3 km
- October 6, 2026 · score 39 · 2.6 km
- September 11, 2026 · 2.6 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 39 out of 100.
This is our versioned heuristic index, not source severity or a calibrated probability. Urban PEI does not count unique people.
Computed under scoring rules v5. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
Archived as “Critical” under the rule in force until 4 October 2026, which read the radiative power and the people nearby. A satellite sees heat, not an emergency: since then every detection is shown as low or medium; this one as “Low”.
Series begins 8 March 2026 for live collection; the monthly chart also counts backfilled detections from 10 February 2024. Collection gap: 14-26 August 2026.
This data is aggregated algorithmically from scientific sources. Not a replacement for official emergency warnings.
Event data
| Type | Persistent heat source |
| Severity | Low |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 39 / 100 |
| Legacy data-support index | 0.74/1 |
| Coordinates | 30.4724, -91.2052 |
| Nearest city | Baton Rouge (4 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 234.2K within 35 km |
| Impact tier | severe |
| Timestamp | 2026-09-14T08:48:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@-91.205,30.472,9z |
| Licence | US public domain (NASA) · NASA FIRMS (LANCE) |
Physical priority index · v5. Heuristic priority, not calibrated probability, predictive accuracy or damage. The legacy data-support index combines assigned source support and field availability. Urban PEI is distance-weighted and does not count unique people; zero does not establish that nobody is present. Model cards.
Source and revision timeline
Source: firms. Occurrence: 2026-09-14T08:48:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-09-14T13:19:03.897Z. Material modification: 2026-09-23T18:16:57.571Z.
Retained revisions are prospective; earlier versions may be unavailable. No revision entry does not prove that a record never changed.
Score breakdown
Technical details
| Brightness | 320.44 |
| Frp | 58.48 |
| PixelCount | 27 |
| Confidence | nominal |
Safety information
Heat shows up at this spot regularly, which usually means an industrial plant or routine burning rather than a wildfire. Nothing on this page is an alert. In a real emergency, follow local authorities.
Review the area, threshold and delivery channel in your account.
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.
No news is listed: GDELT was not available when this page was rendered.
GDELT Project · gdeltproject.org