Observation time
When the satellite measured the location. This is more important than the time a website last refreshed its data.
Independent wildfire map guide
A hotspot on a map is a clue.
It is not a warning.
Wildfire24 explains how to move from a satellite thermal detection to the official information that can actually tell you about incidents, warnings and evacuations.
In immediate danger? Contact local emergency services and follow local authority instructions.
CONCEPTUAL · NOT LIVE DATA
Use Wildfire24 to interpret the map.
Use ThermalGlobe to explore satellite observations.
Use local authorities to act.
A safer workflow
Three sources, in the right order
No single map answers every wildfire question. Start broad, verify locally, then act only on official information.
- 01
Look for recent thermal activity
Use a satellite map to see where instruments detected unusual heat. Check the observation time, sensor and age before interpreting a point.
Open ThermalGlobe’s satellite map - 02
Verify the place and incident
Search the relevant fire, civil-protection or emergency-management authority. A hotspot can come from fire, industry, agriculture or another heat source.
How to find official wildfire alerts - 03
Follow official instructions
Use official incident status, evacuation zones, road closures and emergency messages for decisions. Never use a satellite dot to decide whether or how to evacuate.
Read the full safety notice
Read the signal
What a satellite hotspot means
A thermal detection is an instrument observation tied to a place and time. It is evidence of heat, not a confirmed incident record.
Sensor
VIIRS and MODIS have different footprints and overpass patterns. Nearby points do not automatically describe one fire boundary.
Confidence
A sensor-quality classification, not the probability that a point is a dangerous wildfire and not an incident severity score.
Fire radiative power
An estimate of radiative energy at observation time. It must not be presented as burned area, flame height or risk to people.
Know the blind spots
Why “live wildfire map” is never literally live
Polar-orbiting satellites observe a location during overpasses, not continuously. Clouds, smoke, canopy, terrain, sensor geometry and processing delays can hide or delay a signal. A point can also remain visible after conditions on the ground have changed.
That means an empty area does not prove there is no fire, and a bright cluster does not prove there is an active emergency at every point. The map is most useful as an awareness and investigation tool when its timestamps and sources remain visible.
Why satellites can miss a fireAvoid false certainty
Four common map mistakes
Most unsafe conclusions come from treating a display symbol as if it were the event on the ground.
“The number is the size of one fire.”
A cluster count only says how many observations are grouped at the current zoom. They may span different sources, times and causes. Zooming changes the grouping; it does not change conditions on the ground.
“The dot is the exact flame location.”
The coordinate represents an observed pixel or product location. Sensor footprint and viewing geometry matter. It is not a surveyed ignition point, fire front, perimeter or safe navigation waypoint.
“The website updated now, so the fire is current.”
A fresh website release can contain an older observation. Read the detection time first, then the source watermark and map publication time. None of them proves that the heat source is still active.
“There are no dots, so the area is safe.”
A real fire can be hidden by orbit timing, cloud, smoke, terrain, canopy, resolution or processing delay. An empty map state is never a safety assessment and never overrides an official warning.
Before you share or decide
A 30-second wildfire map check
- 01
Read the observation time. Do not substitute the page refresh time.
- 02
Identify the sensor. VIIRS and MODIS do not have identical footprints or fields.
- 03
Check the selected time window. A 48-hour view can intentionally include older detections.
- 04
Separate points from incidents. Do not invent a fire name from a cluster or nearest place.
- 05
Open the responsible authority. Confirm warnings, closures and incident status at the source.
- 06
Preserve uncertainty when sharing. Say “satellite thermal detection,” not “active wildfire,” unless officially confirmed.
Match the source to the question
The map is only one layer
Your questionBest sourceWhat it can establish
Where was heat recently observed?Satellite thermal mapInstrument observations with sensor and time
Is this a named wildfire incident?Fire or incident authorityOfficial incident identity, status and updates
Is my location under warning?Civil protection or emergency managementAlerts, warning areas and public instructions
Should I evacuate or change route?Local emergency servicesEvacuation orders, closures and life-safety directions
One publisher · two distinct jobs
Wildfire24 explains.
ThermalGlobe shows.
Wildfire24 is the editorial companion to ThermalGlobe. This page teaches a safe interpretation workflow; ThermalGlobe provides the interactive global view, detection details, sources and methodology. The two sites do not duplicate one another.
Open ThermalGlobeTHERMALGLOBEGlobal satellite
thermal detections
thermal detections
- Interactive 3D globe
- Observation age and sensor
- Methodology and limitations