Fire near Kwando-Kubango (AO)

16.65°S, 18.59°E · first detected on 6 September at 01:44

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 6 September at 01:44 to 7 September at 14:53, that is 2 days, through 214 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 2,951 ha.

Detected extent: 2,951 ha
Cumulative power: 2,912 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 177 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 214

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 4 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
7 September at 16:43	11 MW	1	Met12
7 September at 16:23	11 MW	1	Met12
7 September at 16:13	32 MW	2	Met12
7 September at 15:53	57 MW	3	Met12
7 September at 15:49	244 MW	4	Met9
7 September at 15:49	144 MW	2	Met10
7 September at 15:43	48 MW	2	Met12
7 September at 14:53	34 MW	6	N20
7 September at 14:49	46 MW	1	Met9
7 September at 14:34	25 MW	4	N
7 September at 14:23	14 MW	1	Met12
7 September at 14:13	14 MW	1	Met12
7 September at 13:57	27 MW	3	N21
7 September at 12:49	133 MW	1	Met10
7 September at 12:49	126 MW	1	Met9
7 September at 11:53	81 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 18:19	112 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 18:19	107 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 18:12	22 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:04	88 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 18:04	96 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 18:03	13 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 17:53	24 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 17:49	224 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 17:49	241 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 17:43	25 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 17:34	213 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 17:34	266 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 17:33	102 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:23	42 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 17:19	162 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 17:19	170 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 17:13	15 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 17:04	352 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 17:04	304 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 17:03	22 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 16:53	25 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 16:49	312 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 16:49	351 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 16:43	146 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 16:40	321 MW	12	Aqua
6 September at 16:34	875 MW	11	Met10
6 September at 16:34	710 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 16:33	232 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 16:23	60 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 16:19	388 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 16:19	415 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 16:04	455 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 16:04	466 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 16:03	141 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 15:53	196 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 15:49	569 MW	7	Met10
6 September at 15:49	571 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 15:43	270 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 15:34	1,056 MW	8	Met10
6 September at 15:34	1,015 MW	9	Met9
6 September at 15:33	678 MW	14	Met12
6 September at 15:23	440 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 15:19	757 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 15:19	702 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 15:13	343 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 15:12	659 MW	57	N20
6 September at 15:04	1,406 MW	8	Met10
6 September at 15:04	1,478 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 15:03	994 MW	9	Met12
6 September at 14:53	1,093 MW	9	Met12
6 September at 14:51	1,214 MW	40	N
6 September at 14:49	1,086 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 14:49	1,099 MW	7	Met10
6 September at 14:43	506 MW	10	Met12
6 September at 14:34	429 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 14:34	506 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 14:33	317 MW	13	Met12
6 September at 14:23	178 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 14:19	229 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 14:19	343 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 14:17	305 MW	29	N21
6 September at 14:13	191 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 14:04	481 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 14:04	464 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 14:03	299 MW	9	Met12
6 September at 13:53	566 MW	17	Met12
6 September at 13:49	347 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 13:49	479 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 13:43	350 MW	11	Met12
6 September at 13:34	223 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 13:34	296 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 13:33	216 MW	11	Met12
6 September at 13:32	214 MW	18	N20
6 September at 13:23	310 MW	11	Met12
6 September at 13:19	573 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 13:19	461 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 13:13	99 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 13:04	108 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 13:04	152 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 12:53	65 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 12:49	173 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:49	68 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 12:43	17 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 12:34	168 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:34	66 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 12:19	159 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:13	34 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 12:04	234 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 12:04	307 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 12:03	40 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 11:53	39 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 11:49	265 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 11:49	257 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:43	38 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 11:34	75 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 11:23	42 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 11:19	252 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:19	116 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 11:13	102 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 11:04	106 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 11:04	225 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:03	96 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:53	87 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:49	304 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 10:43	94 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:34	248 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 10:33	105 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 10:23	114 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 10:19	272 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 09:54	68 MW	2	Terra
6 September at 02:39	13 MW	16	N20
6 September at 02:20	15 MW	15	N
6 September at 01:44	17 MW	12	N21

8 other fires near Kwando-Kubango (AO)

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.

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