Fire near Piauí (BR)

9.87°S, 44.81°W · first detected on 26 September at 18:05

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 26 September at 18:05 to 17 October at 19:09, that is 21 days, through 3,186 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 29,886 ha.

Detected extent: 29,886 ha
Cumulative power: 66,832 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 924 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 3,186
Estimated emissions: 86.4 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 5 October 2026 to 17 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).

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.

Before, after: the burn scar seen from space

Sentinel-2 satellite image of the same area near Piauí (BR) during the fire, on 10 October 2026

Sentinel-2 satellite image of the area near Piauí (BR) before the fire, on 20 September 2026

Before · 20 September 2026During · 10 October 2026

Sentinel-2, 10 m resolution. No sufficiently clear pass has followed the fire going out yet: the second image was taken DURING the fire, so the burn scar had not finished spreading. It will be replaced automatically at the first clear sky. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (2026).

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 24 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
17 October at 19:09	56 MW	6	N20
17 October at 18:50	58 MW	13	N
17 October at 18:13	44 MW	6	N21
16 October at 20:45	43 MW	2	Aqua
16 October at 19:28	23 MW	3	N20
16 October at 18:33	125 MW	8	N21
16 October at 17:48	35 MW	2	N20
15 October at 19:28	58 MW	6	N
15 October at 18:50	202 MW	17	N21
15 October at 18:05	39 MW	6	N20
15 October at 07:12	24 MW	6	N20
15 October at 06:51	37 MW	11	N
15 October at 06:17	8 MW	2	N21
14 October at 21:04	170 MW	7	Aqua
14 October at 19:09	588 MW	42	N21
14 October at 18:26	863 MW	49	N20
14 October at 18:05	1,447 MW	70	N
14 October at 13:19	134 MW	9	Terra
14 October at 08:52	21 MW	2	Aqua
14 October at 07:10	65 MW	25	N
14 October at 06:34	179 MW	44	N21
14 October at 05:49	129 MW	51	N20
13 October at 20:26	127 MW	2	Aqua
13 October at 18:43	235 MW	14	N20
13 October at 18:24	269 MW	19	N
13 October at 17:48	400 MW	16	N21
13 October at 08:14	19 MW	1	Aqua
13 October at 01:54	36 MW	4	Terra
12 October at 19:05	1,929 MW	84	N20
12 October at 18:05	2,291 MW	98	N21
12 October at 13:40	761 MW	12	Terra
12 October at 07:12	7 MW	2	N21
12 October at 06:27	132 MW	51	N20
12 October at 06:08	92 MW	37	N
12 October at 05:32	67 MW	21	N21
11 October at 19:22	284 MW	30	N20
11 October at 19:02	712 MW	56	N
11 October at 18:26	861 MW	61	N21
11 October at 17:41	54 MW	7	N20
11 October at 13:02	55 MW	1	Terra
11 October at 08:37	35 MW	3	Aqua
11 October at 06:46	96 MW	30	N20
11 October at 06:25	152 MW	47	N
11 October at 05:49	94 MW	20	N21
11 October at 02:13	124 MW	2	Terra
10 October at 20:11	205 MW	2	Aqua
10 October at 19:22	264 MW	43	N
10 October at 18:43	574 MW	45	N21
10 October at 17:58	1,080 MW	59	N20
10 October at 14:00	56 MW	2	Terra
10 October at 07:06	23 MW	9	N20
10 October at 06:46	58 MW	28	N
10 October at 06:08	103 MW	34	N21
10 October at 01:35	179 MW	14	Terra
9 October at 21:13	732 MW	14	Aqua
9 October at 19:39	1,294 MW	55	N
9 October at 19:05	2,195 MW	95	N21
9 October at 18:20	4,393 MW	65	N20
9 October at 18:01	1,649 MW	64	N
9 October at 13:21	125 MW	8	Terra
9 October at 07:04	58 MW	35	N
9 October at 06:27	78 MW	31	N21
9 October at 05:45	38 MW	15	N20
8 October at 20:34	4,075 MW	29	Aqua
8 October at 19:22	2,832 MW	59	N21
8 October at 18:37	2,912 MW	78	N20
8 October at 18:18	4,812 MW	67	N
8 October at 17:41	4,096 MW	40	N21
8 October at 08:20	39 MW	3	Aqua
8 October at 07:25	14 MW	4	N
8 October at 06:46	50 MW	15	N21
8 October at 06:02	66 MW	24	N20
8 October at 05:45	59 MW	17	N
8 October at 01:54	71 MW	7	Terra
7 October at 18:56	538 MW	26	N20
7 October at 18:37	611 MW	30	N
7 October at 18:01	781 MW	20	N21
7 October at 13:42	19 MW	2	Terra
7 October at 07:06	8 MW	3	N21
7 October at 06:21	44 MW	31	N20
7 October at 06:02	26 MW	11	N
7 October at 05:25	8 MW	3	N21
7 October at 01:16	50 MW	3	Terra
6 October at 20:58	1,132 MW	12	Aqua
6 October at 19:15	972 MW	66	N20
6 October at 18:56	1,053 MW	58	N
6 October at 18:20	1,065 MW	41	N21
6 October at 06:40	22 MW	21	N20
6 October at 06:19	29 MW	24	N
6 October at 05:45	16 MW	10	N21
5 October at 20:19	251 MW	2	Aqua
5 October at 19:13	464 MW	26	N
5 October at 18:37	436 MW	37	N21
5 October at 17:54	69 MW	7	N20
5 October at 06:57	4 MW	3	N20
5 October at 06:40	7 MW	6	N
5 October at 06:02	16 MW	8	N21
5 October at 01:37	5 MW	1	Terra
4 October at 19:34	33 MW	4	N
4 October at 18:56	80 MW	6	N21
4 October at 18:11	29 MW	5	N20
4 October at 17:54	69 MW	6	N
2 October at 18:50	43 MW	7	N20
2 October at 18:33	1,081 MW	28	N
2 October at 17:54	175 MW	20	N21
2 October at 13:42	200 MW	7	Terra
2 October at 06:59	35 MW	14	N21
2 October at 06:14	74 MW	42	N20
2 October at 05:55	27 MW	25	N
2 October at 01:18	121 MW	3	Terra
1 October at 21:04	111 MW	3	Aqua
1 October at 19:09	1,480 MW	27	N20
1 October at 18:50	1,772 MW	53	N
1 October at 18:13	983 MW	45	N21
1 October at 06:34	44 MW	30	N20
1 October at 06:14	30 MW	21	N
1 October at 05:38	10 MW	7	N21
30 September at 20:24	264 MW	6	Aqua
30 September at 19:28	145 MW	18	N20
30 September at 19:07	238 MW	29	N
30 September at 18:33	507 MW	25	N21
30 September at 17:48	160 MW	14	N20
30 September at 14:02	25 MW	1	Terra
30 September at 06:53	17 MW	7	N20
30 September at 06:34	30 MW	19	N
30 September at 05:55	28 MW	14	N21
30 September at 01:39	17 MW	3	Terra
29 September at 19:28	168 MW	15	N
29 September at 18:50	329 MW	20	N21
29 September at 18:05	208 MW	15	N20
29 September at 17:46	41 MW	3	N
29 September at 13:23	15 MW	2	Terra
29 September at 07:12	5 MW	2	N20
29 September at 06:51	17 MW	13	N
29 September at 06:17	32 MW	17	N21
28 September at 20:47	293 MW	11	Aqua
28 September at 19:09	432 MW	38	N21
28 September at 18:26	1,687 MW	25	N20
28 September at 18:05	256 MW	22	N
28 September at 08:33	10 MW	1	Aqua
28 September at 07:10	6 MW	5	N
28 September at 06:34	23 MW	10	N21
28 September at 05:49	17 MW	11	N20
28 September at 01:58	26 MW	2	Terra
27 September at 20:09	83 MW	1	Aqua
27 September at 18:43	714 MW	22	N20
27 September at 18:24	1,243 MW	22	N
27 September at 17:48	448 MW	18	N21
27 September at 13:45	15 MW	1	Terra
27 September at 06:08	4 MW	3	N20
26 September at 18:05	4 MW	1	N21

8 other fires near Piauí (BR)

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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