Wildfire in United States
Recorded by satellite today.
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 100th strongest of the 3590 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 13 February 2024. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 62 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 297 MW, at high confidence, 58 km from Ellendale.
The 62 pixels cover about 8.7 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.
This is the highest radiative power we have recorded at this point, over 14 readings since 1 September 2026 — the previous range was 297 MW to 297 MW.
Nearby, since 13 February 2024
- August 27, 2026 · score 27 · 3.1 km
- August 28, 2026 · score 27 · 4.0 km
- August 31, 2026 · score 27 · 4.4 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 27 out of 100, at 54 % confidence.
The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfire |
| Severity | critical |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 27 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 54% |
| Coordinates | 35.7430, -89.9262 |
| Nearest City | Ellendale (58 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-09-01T08:46:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@-89.926,35.743,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 297.07 |
| PixelCount | 62 |
| Confidence | high |
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 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.
Want to know when something happens near Ellendale?
Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 27/100 (United States), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 188 scientific monitoring sources.