Fire near Kigoma (TZ)

4.29°S, 30.82°E · first detected on 6 September at 00:35

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 6 September at 00:35 to 6 September at 15:04, through 156 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,756 ha.

Detected extent: 1,756 ha
Cumulative power: 2,509 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 176 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 156

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 375 m pixel counts in full 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 and loads only its detections. The timeline below covers the whole known life of the fire, from the first trace, satellite or report, to the last announcement from emergency services, and the ticks on the bar mark those announcements. Detections often stop before containment: a fire stops radiating once it stops spreading, which is exactly when it is declared contained. “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. “12 h” stacks twelve hours , as the home map does, where stacking avoids an empty screen between two satellite passes. 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 3 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
6 September at 20:06	18 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 19:51	20 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 19:36	23 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 19:21	23 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 19:20	25 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 19:06	35 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 19:05	48 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 18:51	41 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 18:50	77 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 18:36	57 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 18:35	66 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 18:21	56 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 18:20	127 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 18:06	244 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 18:05	198 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 18:04	22 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 17:54	82 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 17:51	242 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 17:50	284 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 17:44	243 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 17:36	435 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 17:35	407 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 17:34	128 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 17:24	60 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:20	411 MW	9	Met9
6 September at 17:20	358 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 17:14	30 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 17:05	339 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 17:05	682 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 17:04	287 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 16:34	271 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 16:24	282 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 16:20	82 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 16:14	93 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 16:05	364 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 16:05	403 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 16:04	137 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 15:54	22 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 15:50	330 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 15:50	403 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 15:44	28 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 15:35	299 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 15:35	474 MW	9	Met9
6 September at 15:34	65 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 15:24	64 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 15:20	876 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 15:20	708 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 15:14	264 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 15:05	332 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 15:05	557 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 15:04	203 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 15:04	69 MW	1	Aqua
6 September at 14:54	712 MW	11	Met12
6 September at 14:50	415 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 14:50	517 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 14:44	192 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 14:35	1,025 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 14:35	1,003 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 14:34	534 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 14:24	531 MW	11	Met12
6 September at 14:20	697 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 14:20	622 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 14:19	417 MW	23	N21
6 September at 14:14	395 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 14:05	1,483 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 14:05	1,241 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 14:04	1,022 MW	11	Met12
6 September at 13:54	839 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 13:50	1,001 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 13:50	943 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 13:44	278 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 13:35	1,115 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 13:35	786 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 13:34	875 MW	45	N20
6 September at 13:34	685 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 13:24	1,137 MW	16	Met12
6 September at 13:20	1,133 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 13:20	1,470 MW	9	Met9
6 September at 13:17	742 MW	38	N
6 September at 13:14	683 MW	9	Met12
6 September at 13:05	809 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 13:05	600 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 13:04	396 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 12:54	360 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 12:50	1,042 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 12:50	860 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 12:44	115 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 12:38	324 MW	27	N21
6 September at 12:35	312 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 12:35	539 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 12:34	248 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 12:24	137 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 12:20	623 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 12:20	608 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 12:14	260 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 12:05	219 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:05	288 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 12:04	41 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 11:54	231 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 11:50	204 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 11:50	135 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 11:35	119 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 11:35	135 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 11:20	150 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 11:20	170 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 11:14	250 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 11:05	242 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:05	188 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 11:04	91 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 10:50	337 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 10:50	290 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 10:44	86 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 10:35	129 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 10:35	63 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 10:34	36 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 10:24	99 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:20	166 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 10:20	304 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 02:16	3 MW	2	N
6 September at 01:39	24 MW	9	N21
6 September at 00:57	53 MW	10	N20
6 September at 00:35	3 MW	1	N

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