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 35th strongest of the 188 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 6 August 2024. The last comparable one was on 1 September 2026.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 97 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 1265 MW, at high confidence, 95 km from Pendleton.
The 97 pixels cover about 13.6 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 SW at 22 km/h at 23:00 UTC, according to MET Norway.
This is the lowest radiative power we have recorded at this point, over 26 readings since 2 September 2026 — the previous range was 1,265 MW to 1,268 MW.
Nearby, since 6 August 2024
- July 12, 2026 · score 46 · 2.2 km
- July 10, 2026 · score 60 · 3.6 km
- August 27, 2026 · score 50 · 5.8 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 43 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) | 43 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 54% |
| Coordinates | 44.8799, -118.3160 |
| Nearest City | Pendleton (95 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-09-02T20:36:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@-118.316,44.880,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 1264.65 |
| PixelCount | 97 |
| 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 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 43/100 (United States), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 185 scientific monitoring sources.