Fire near Bahr el Ghazal occidental (SS)

7.55°N, 28.30°E · first detected on 23 September at 13:00

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 23 September at 13:00 to 22 October at 14:17, that is 29 days, through 2,048 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 39,852 ha.

Detected extent: 39,852 ha
Cumulative power: 14,040 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 102 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 2,048
Estimated emissions: 2.1 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 5 October 2026 to 21 October 2026. An order-of-magnitude estimate from GFAS (ECMWF, Copernicus CAMS): it also counts neighbouring fires in the same cell. Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information (2026). Published data stop on 21 October 2026.

These four figures cover the polar orbits alone, the ones that measure an area. The pass table below also counts geostationary detections, more frequent but too coarse for geometry, and its power column sums a whole pass where the peak above is that of a single pixel.

“Detected extent” is not “burned area”: it is the union of the ground footprints of the satellite pixels, and a pixel counts in full (375 m for VIIRS, 1 km for MODIS) even when only a forest edge is burning. Compared with press figures it is in practice one and a half to three times the area reported. Detections taken at the edge of the scan swath, too coarse to measure anything at all, are excluded. These figures come from thermal detection and are not an official assessment: only the emergency services and the competent authorities are authoritative.

Replay how the fire spread

The map is framed on this fire's footprint and loads only its detections. The timeline below covers the period in which satellites saw it, from the first to the last detection, with twelve hours before and twenty-four after; the ticks on the bar mark the emergency services' announcements that fall within it. The cursor opens on the most powerful pass, and playback replays the whole fire in about thirty seconds. “1 h” shows what is burning within an hour of the chosen moment : the map then follows the power curve below and empties when it falls. “24 h” stacks twenty-four hours : a fire stays visible between two satellite passes, which come two to four times a day. Both are true, but they say different things.

How the radiative power evolved

One point per satellite pass: the sum of the fire radiative power measured over the fire. This is the curve that says whether the fire eased off or picked up again, which no cumulative figure shows. The window covers 30 days; beyond that, clustering would merge two successive fires in the same place.

Fire dynamics

Loading history…

Satellite passes in detail

Pass	Power summed over the pass	Detections	Sensor
22 October at 16:37	22 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:35	54 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:25	75 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 16:22	147 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 16:15	102 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 16:07	191 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 16:05	57 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:55	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:52	60 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 15:45	53 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:37	32 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:35	63 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:25	116 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 15:22	134 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 15:15	240 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 15:07	162 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 15:05	365 MW	14	Met12
22 October at 14:55	250 MW	15	Met12
22 October at 14:52	160 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 14:45	266 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 14:35	230 MW	11	Met12
22 October at 14:25	79 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 14:17	228 MW	37	N20
22 October at 14:15	92 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 13:55	646 MW	103	N
22 October at 13:19	615 MW	93	N21
22 October at 12:25	85 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:15	132 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:07	44 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:05	52 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:55	24 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:45	25 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:35	29 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:25	23 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:15	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:55	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:45	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:35	32 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 16:15	34 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:55	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:45	59 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:44	243 MW	32	Aqua
21 October at 15:37	168 MW	5	Met9
21 October at 15:37	87 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 15:35	53 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 15:25	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:22	62 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 15:22	89 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 15:15	27 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:07	32 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 15:07	55 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 15:05	96 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 14:55	29 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 14:52	206 MW	6	Met9
21 October at 14:45	115 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 14:37	162 MW	5	Met9
21 October at 14:35	130 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 14:25	35 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:17	435 MW	90	N
21 October at 14:15	96 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 14:05	50 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 13:55	137 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 13:45	186 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 13:38	1,157 MW	171	N21
21 October at 13:35	73 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 13:25	176 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 13:22	126 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 13:15	60 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 13:05	140 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 12:55	156 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 12:53	509 MW	74	N20
21 October at 12:45	115 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 12:37	34 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 12:35	203 MW	10	Met12
21 October at 12:25	258 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 12:22	31 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 12:15	285 MW	13	Met12
21 October at 12:07	64 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 12:05	83 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 11:55	110 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 11:52	124 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 11:45	37 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:37	29 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 11:35	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:25	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:22	59 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 11:15	49 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 10:45	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 10:25	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 01:29	1 MW	1	N
20 October at 13:57	114 MW	15	N21
20 October at 13:15	239 MW	49	N20
20 October at 12:53	19 MW	3	N
20 October at 11:25	29 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 10:55	18 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 16:08	209 MW	4	Aqua
19 October at 14:17	82 MW	10	N21
19 October at 13:32	410 MW	97	N20
19 October at 13:10	281 MW	42	N
19 October at 12:36	197 MW	13	N21
18 October at 13:51	70 MW	9	N20
18 October at 13:32	97 MW	15	N
18 October at 12:53	45 MW	7	N21
17 October at 14:10	25 MW	4	N20
17 October at 13:49	15 MW	3	N
16 October at 01:44	1 MW	1	N20
15 October at 14:27	38 MW	7	N
15 October at 13:50	397 MW	63	N21
15 October at 13:08	368 MW	55	N20
15 October at 12:47	42 MW	6	N
14 October at 14:10	220 MW	22	N21
14 October at 13:25	582 MW	91	N20
14 October at 13:06	298 MW	61	N
13 October at 15:38	54 MW	3	Aqua
13 October at 13:45	129 MW	22	N20
11 October at 13:25	85 MW	7	N21
10 October at 15:23	36 MW	2	Aqua
10 October at 14:21	125 MW	14	N
10 October at 13:45	159 MW	22	N21
10 October at 13:00	135 MW	17	N20
9 October at 14:04	87 MW	15	N21
9 October at 13:19	141 MW	13	N20
9 October at 13:00	34 MW	8	N
8 October at 13:38	55 MW	10	N20
8 October at 13:17	38 MW	7	N
8 October at 12:41	17 MW	2	N21
7 October at 13:57	92 MW	14	N20
7 October at 13:38	53 MW	14	N
7 October at 13:01	33 MW	6	N21
5 October at 15:27	242 MW	7	Aqua
5 October at 14:17	173 MW	36	N
5 October at 13:38	165 MW	20	N21
5 October at 12:53	5 MW	1	N20
4 October at 14:34	90 MW	9	N
4 October at 13:57	577 MW	47	N21
4 October at 13:15	657 MW	82	N20
4 October at 12:53	252 MW	31	N
3 October at 15:50	69 MW	7	Aqua
3 October at 14:17	29 MW	2	N21
3 October at 13:32	314 MW	58	N20
3 October at 13:10	250 MW	36	N
3 October at 12:36	139 MW	12	N21
2 October at 13:49	43 MW	8	N20
2 October at 13:32	134 MW	18	N
2 October at 12:53	123 MW	12	N21
1 October at 14:10	6 MW	2	N20
29 September at 14:27	6 MW	1	N
29 September at 13:51	29 MW	5	N21
29 September at 13:06	35 MW	5	N20
28 September at 14:10	13 MW	2	N21
28 September at 13:25	8 MW	2	N20
27 September at 13:45	100 MW	19	N20
27 September at 13:25	21 MW	3	N
26 September at 14:04	21 MW	3	N20
26 September at 13:45	105 MW	20	N
26 September at 13:08	104 MW	19	N21
25 September at 15:42	8 MW	1	Aqua
25 September at 14:21	46 MW	3	N20
25 September at 14:02	57 MW	10	N
25 September at 13:25	47 MW	7	N21
24 September at 13:45	21 MW	3	N21
24 September at 13:00	31 MW	5	N20

8 other fires near Bahr el Ghazal occidental (SS)

Separate fires, apart in time or in space, not pieces of this one. A single municipality can have several over one summer, and a forest massif often covers more than a hundred square kilometres.

Follow live

The map shows active fires in 3D, with smoke plumes, forecast wind, drop zones and the live position of water bombers tracked by ADS-B, anywhere in the world.

Open the fire map

Take the data of this fire with you

A ready-to-use archive, paid once, no subscription. It contains:

the satellite detections of the fire
the contours of its progression
the drops and the aircraft tracks
the lightning around it
the severity of the burned area, when computed

From €20.00 excl. VAT, six formats to choose from, link valid for 30 days.

Download the data

Pro subscribers: included. €49 excl. VAT a month, no commitment. The public map stays free. Discover GISFire Pro

© 2026 SARO · Gistin. All rights reserved. The interface, its presentation and the contents of GISFire are protected; reproducing or imitating them requires written permission. The source data remain the property of their respective producers, see the credits.

Legal notice · Privacy policy · · GISFire v2.4.2