Fire near Mbeya (TZ)

7.54°S, 32.35°E · first detected on 6 September at 00:37

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 6 September at 00:37 to 6 September at 15:04, through 93 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,069 ha.

Detected extent: 1,069 ha
Cumulative power: 1,478 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 119 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 93

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 21:51	19 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 21:36	18 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 21:21	22 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 21:06	39 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 20:36	18 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 20:30	57 MW	7	Terra
6 September at 20:21	49 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 20:05	33 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 18:50	14 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 18:35	58 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 18:34	18 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:24	46 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 18:20	43 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 18:14	16 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:05	15 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 18:05	77 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 18:04	22 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 17:54	44 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:50	31 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 17:50	14 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 17:44	41 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:35	50 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 17:35	89 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 17:34	56 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 17:24	108 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 17:20	139 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 17:20	167 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 17:14	32 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:05	210 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 17:05	216 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 17:04	154 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 16:54	102 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 16:50	257 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 16:50	314 MW	10	Met9
6 September at 16:44	142 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 16:35	243 MW	9	Met9
6 September at 16:35	248 MW	7	Met10
6 September at 16:34	90 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 16:24	43 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 16:20	219 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 16:20	169 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 16:14	156 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 16:05	116 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 16:05	270 MW	9	Met9
6 September at 16:04	31 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 15:54	131 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 15:50	315 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 15:50	245 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 15:44	30 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 15:35	155 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 15:34	30 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 15:24	22 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 15:20	182 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 15:14	53 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 15:05	133 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 15:05	348 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 15:04	269 MW	3	Aqua
6 September at 15:04	63 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 14:54	145 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 14:50	171 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 14:44	27 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 14:35	538 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 14:34	32 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 14:24	61 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 14:20	137 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 14:14	42 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 14:05	348 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 14:04	105 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 13:54	180 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 13:50	357 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 13:50	69 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 13:44	21 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 13:35	177 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 13:35	464 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 13:34	507 MW	41	N20
6 September at 13:34	254 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 13:24	20 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 13:20	132 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 13:20	326 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 13:15	585 MW	43	N
6 September at 13:14	201 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 13:05	252 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 13:05	402 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 13:04	125 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 12:54	87 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 12:50	327 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 12:50	100 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:44	97 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 12:38	422 MW	23	N21
6 September at 12:35	363 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 12:35	268 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 12:34	68 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 12:24	32 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 12:20	148 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 12:20	107 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:14	20 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 12:05	336 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 12:05	389 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 12:04	175 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 11:54	91 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 11:50	276 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:50	333 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 11:44	61 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 11:35	170 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:35	212 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 11:34	135 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 11:24	221 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 11:20	246 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:20	315 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 11:14	73 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 11:05	136 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:05	137 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 10:54	27 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 10:50	254 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 10:49	211 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 10:44	40 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:35	258 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 10:34	193 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 10:34	309 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 10:24	118 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 10:20	219 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 10:19	116 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 01:41	6 MW	4	N21
6 September at 00:57	19 MW	15	N20
6 September at 00:37	8 MW	5	N

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