See where satellites have detected fires in the last 24 hours, how far the nearest one is from you, and in which direction. Works in Australia, New Zealand, the US and worldwide. Free, no signup.
This is not a warning service. For warnings and evacuation advice, follow your local fire service. In an emergency call 000 (Australia), 111 (New Zealand) or 911 (US and Canada).
Fire hotspots near a place
Within
Loading NASA fire data…
Detected:under 6 h ago6–12 h ago12–24 h ago· Click the map to check another spot.
Hotspots from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS on the Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 satellites), last 24 hours. Each dot marks a pixel of about 375 m that was hotter than its surroundings when a satellite passed overhead; it can also be a planned burn, a gas flare, or hot industrial site.
How to check for fires near you
Choose the place. Press “Fires near me” to use your location, search for a town, address or postcode, or click anywhere on the map.
Choose the distance. Pick 10 to 500 km, or switch to miles. The blue circle shows the area being checked.
Read the result. The box says how many hotspots lie inside the circle and how far and in which direction the nearest one is. The table lists the ten nearest; “Show” zooms the map to one.
Check the official source. If anything is close, open your fire service’s map or app for warnings, which the satellite data cannot give you.
Official fire warnings
Fire services combine satellite data with reports from crews, aircraft and the public, and they are the only source of warnings and evacuation orders. Use them alongside this map:
Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT: your state or territory fire and emergency service.
In Australia, warnings follow the Australian Warning System’s three levels: Advice, Watch and Act, and Emergency Warning, the highest, when you may need to act immediately. Separately, the daily Fire Danger Rating (Moderate, High, Extreme or Catastrophic) tells you how dangerous a fire would be if one started.
Where the fire data comes from
The dots are “active fire” detections from the VIIRS instrument on two polar-orbiting satellites, Suomi NPP and NOAA-20, published by NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). VIIRS sees the ground in pixels about 375 m across and flags a pixel when it is much hotter than the land around it, by day and by night.
The colors show how long ago each detection was made: red for under 6 hours, orange for 6 to 12 hours, and yellow for 12 to 24 hours. Larger dots mark stronger fires (more than 50 megawatts of radiated heat). A dot is the center of a hot pixel, not the edge of a fire front, and one large fire usually shows up as a cluster of dots.
What the map cannot tell you
Where the fire is now. A detection is a snapshot from the moment the satellite passed. Fires can move many kilometres in a few hours on a hot, windy day.
Fires hidden by cloud or smoke, or too small or cool to detect.
Whether a fire is under control, a planned burn, or an emergency. Only the fire service knows.
If you are in a bushfire-prone area, make a bushfire plan before the season, and decide in advance when you would leave. Leaving early is the safest option.
Frequently asked questions
Is this an official fire warning service?
No. The map shows where satellites detected heat in the last 24 hours. It does not show which way a fire is moving, how dangerous it is, or whether you need to leave. Warnings, evacuation advice and road closures come only from your state or national fire and emergency service. If you see fire or smoke threatening life or property, call 000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand, or 911 in the US and Canada.
How up to date is the fire map?
It shows detections from the last 24 hours. NASA publishes each satellite pass within about three hours, and the Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 satellites each pass over a given place about twice a day, so a fire can burn for several hours before it appears. Hover over a dot, or look at the table, for the exact time it was detected.
Why is there a fire dot where there is no fire?
A hotspot is any 375 m pixel that was much hotter than its surroundings. Most are bushfires, grass fires or planned burns, but gas flares, steel works, volcanoes and large sun-heated surfaces can also trigger one. We hide the low-confidence detections, which are most often false alarms.
Why is a fire I know about missing?
Thick cloud or smoke can hide a fire from the satellite, small or slow-burning fires may not be hot enough to detect, and a fire that started after the last satellite pass will not appear yet. That is another reason to rely on official warnings, which combine reports from the ground.
Does it work outside Australia?
Yes. It uses NASA regional files for Australia and New Zealand, the United States, Alaska, Canada and Europe, and the worldwide file everywhere else. Search for any town or click the map to check it.