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.
No stronger detection stands among the 1015 recorded within 20 km of this point since 16 February 2024 — 5 others scored the same. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 24 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 43 MW, at nominal confidence, 52 km from Shelbyville.
The 24 pixels cover about 3.4 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 WSW at 8 km/h at 09:00 UTC, according to MET Norway.
This is the highest radiative power we have recorded at this point, over 10 readings since 2 September 2026 — the previous range was 43 MW to 43.01 MW.
Nearby, since 16 February 2024
- September 1, 2026 · score 18 · 0.9 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 18 out of 100, at 54 % 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 v4. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfires |
| Severity | High |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 18 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 54% |
| Coordinates | 38.6764, -85.1927 |
| Nearest City | Shelbyville (52 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-09-02T08:26:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@-85.193,38.676,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 331.43 |
| Frp | 43.01 |
| PixelCount | 24 |
| Confidence | nominal |
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 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 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 18/100 (United States), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 185 scientific monitoring sources.