Fire near Mpumalanga (ZA)

25.35°S, 30.72°E · first detected on 21 October at 12:45

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 21 October at 12:45 to 22 October at 14:08, through 40 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 2,147 ha.

Detected extent: 2,147 ha
Cumulative power: 12,720 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 3,465 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 40
Estimated emissions: 3.4 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 21 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 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
22 October at 22:18	32 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 22:03	36 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 21:48	33 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 20:03	30 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 19:48	30 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 19:33	34 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 19:03	46 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 18:48	111 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 18:33	86 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 18:18	136 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 18:04	57 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 18:03	251 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 17:49	65 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 17:48	327 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 17:33	487 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 17:33	39 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 17:18	92 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 17:18	504 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 17:03	62 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 17:03	522 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 16:48	378 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 16:48	67 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:33	182 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:18	91 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:18	198 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:03	328 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:48	235 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:33	352 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:18	244 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:03	29 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:03	272 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:02	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:52	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:48	254 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 14:48	36 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:42	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:33	117 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 14:32	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:22	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:18	27 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:12	28 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:08	11 MW	1	N20
22 October at 14:02	33 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 13:52	39 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 13:49	40 MW	4	N
22 October at 13:42	46 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 13:33	47 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:32	61 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 13:22	63 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 13:18	48 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:12	52 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 13:10	96 MW	2	N21
22 October at 13:02	40 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:52	43 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:42	75 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 12:32	42 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:22	33 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:12	35 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:02	16 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:52	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:42	29 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:32	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:22	29 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:12	30 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:02	42 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 10:52	35 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 10:42	34 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 10:32	18 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:22	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:02	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:52	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:32	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 01:20	0 MW	1	N
22 October at 00:44	1 MW	1	N21
21 October at 18:32	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 18:22	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 18:12	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 18:04	53 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 18:03	43 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 18:02	40 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:52	82 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 17:49	168 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 17:48	140 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 17:42	123 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 17:33	249 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 17:33	268 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 17:32	201 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 17:22	328 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 17:18	602 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 17:18	505 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 17:12	500 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 17:03	753 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 17:03	665 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 17:02	603 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 16:52	826 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 16:48	1,131 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 16:48	1,314 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 16:42	1,265 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 16:33	1,567 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 16:33	1,392 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 16:32	1,797 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 16:22	2,556 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 16:18	1,481 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 16:18	1,826 MW	5	Met9
21 October at 16:12	4,016 MW	11	Met12
21 October at 16:03	1,992 MW	5	Met10
21 October at 16:03	2,285 MW	6	Met9
21 October at 16:02	3,400 MW	10	Met12
21 October at 15:52	3,775 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 15:48	1,698 MW	5	Met9
21 October at 15:48	1,336 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 15:42	5,487 MW	10	Met12
21 October at 15:38	10,667 MW	14	Aqua
21 October at 15:33	2,167 MW	5	Met9
21 October at 15:33	2,503 MW	5	Met10
21 October at 15:32	6,688 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 15:22	6,364 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 15:18	535 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 15:18	2,594 MW	5	Met10
21 October at 15:12	4,462 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 15:03	1,199 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 15:02	3,990 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 14:06	1,319 MW	13	N
21 October at 14:03	402 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 14:02	965 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 13:52	309 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 13:42	642 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 13:33	845 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 13:33	616 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 13:32	624 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 13:30	574 MW	3	N21
21 October at 13:22	285 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 13:18	541 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 13:18	481 MW	5	Met9
21 October at 13:12	379 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 13:03	193 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 13:03	156 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 13:02	138 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 12:52	96 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 12:48	36 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 12:45	13 MW	1	N20

8 other fires near Mpumalanga (ZA)

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